Missoula Woman Tries to Steal From Walmart, Gets Caught With Meth

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On October 4, 2023, at around 8:12 p.m., a Missoula Police Department Officer responded to Walmart at 4000 Hwy 93 S. for the report of a shoplifter in custody. The 911 caller was the Walmart loss prevention team member who witnessed the incident. 

The employee stated she observed the female suspect commit “false scanning.” The employee then said the female had removed tags from one item of lower value, placed them on another item, and scanned the barcode to show the price was of the lower item. The items were scanned and placed into a shopping bag.  

According to court documents, the items of lower value were wooden art items and the other items were beauty products. The female suspect also did not scan multiple items prior to placing them in bags. The officer then began speaking with the female suspect.  

The female suspect began by identifying herself as, Brandy Riely. Initially, during the officer’s interview, Brandy denied any of the thefts and claimed the Walmart scanning system had an error. She told the officer that she intended to purchase the wooden art items for her nephew to paint and never changed the bar code to the beauty products.  

After speaking with Brandy, the officer contacted dispatch to perform a wants and records check. With the name, date of birth and social security number Brandy provided, no record was found which made the officer believe she was lying about her name.  

The officer then informed Brandy of the identity discrepancy information. After a few moments, Brandy admitted her real name was Savannah Mays. The officer then informed Mays she was under arrest for obstructing a peace officer.  

During the search incident to arrest, the officer retrieved a small plastic wrapper from Mays’ left pant pocket. The officer observed it to have a white crystal-like substance that was later tested using the TruNarc as Methamphetamine. 

Mays is currently being charged with felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs, obstructing a peace officer, and theft. 

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.