EUSTIS, Florida—Two employees of the same company, but separate locations, are facing grand theft and scheme to defraud charges after their managers busted them stealing this week.
On Tuesday, Eustis Police Department responded to Circle K, 2754 East Orange Avenue, at the corner of Abrams Road after the manager reported she caught an employee stealing on video.
After receiving alerts, the register had been opened without a transaction occurring, the manager began reviewing surveillance and saw Kailyn Marie Kleinmann, 18, crumple money and put it in her shoe or bra, according to the arrest affidavit.
The manager also found that Kleinmann, who had only been employed at the store for a few weeks, had been ringing lottery tickets up, deleting the transaction and then pocketing the cash from the transaction. The manager found that the store lost $1,411 in lottery ticket sales just on July 17, the affidavit states.
On July 20, Kleinmann, of Eustis, was seen giving away and discounting cigarettes, in addition to taking another $296 in lottery sales. In total, the store lost $1,857.
EPD returned to the store Monday afternoon when Kleinmann came to work, and she agreed to speak with officers. She admitted she took around $2,000 and said she needed it to pay for motel rooms. Kleinmann was arrested for grand theft and scheme to defraud. She was transported to the Lake County Jail, where she was released on $2,000 bond.
On Wednesday, EPD responded to another Circle location, less than 2 miles away in reference to a theft. The manager of the store located at 19516 State Road 44, told EPD she was reviewing video surveillance from June when she was on vacation, because the count came up short. Upon reviewing the video, she spotted employee Bryan Martinez Cruz, 30, of Orlando, taking money to the vault, but instead of dropping it, he put it in his pocket, according to the arrest affidavit. On Monday, Cruz was captured on video ringing up a $50 lottery ticket, cashing it out for $100 and taking a total of $320 from the register. The total amount from all the thefts was $1,043, the affidavit states.
Police questioned Cruz, who worked at the store around four months, and he admitted the thefts and said he needed it for blood pressure medication. Cruz was arrested for grand theft and scheme to defraud and transported to LCJ, where he is being held on $2,000 bond.
