HANCOCK COUNTY, Ind. — An Indiana woman is accused of taking money from a self-serve corn stand over several weeks, which resulted in a $2,000 loss for the business owners, according to court documents.
Teresa Lynn Kiner, 67, of Greenfield, was arrested and charged with 18 Level 6 felony counts of theft where the defendant has either a prior conviction or conversion, according to the Greenfield Daily Reporter.
Police began an investigation on Sept. 4 when the corn stand’s owner spoke with deputies from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, WTTV reported.
Woman accused of robbing local corn stand https://t.co/xgD9tfnmVo pic.twitter.com/2SGgEE0EIy
— Greenfield DR (@GreenfieldDR) September 29, 2022
The owner runs a self-serve stand with her family in front of their Hancock County home, and payment is through an honor system. Customers are expected to leave cash inside a money bin in the family’s mailbox, according to the television station.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the victims were able to identify a woman, believed to be Kiner, taking money from late July through early September, according to the Daily Reporter. Videos showed the woman taking not only cash, but also corn.
Court records state that when police viewed security video from the stand, they counted 18 instances from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 where Kiner allegedly took corn and money, WTTV reported.
The owner of the stand put the woman’s photo, taken from a video screen grab, on Facebook and asked community members to help identify her, according to the television station.
The owner told police that Kiner called her on Sept. 3 and asked for her photo to be removed from the Facebook post, according to the Daily Reporter. Initially, she denied taking any money, but later told the owner she returned $90 to the money bin, the newspaper reported.
The probable cause affidavit stated that when Kiner was brought in for questioning, she told detectives she had visited the stand three times but had dementia and could not recall her actions. When shown two videos, Kiner admitted she had taken the corn and cash, according to the Daily Reporter.
“I started to show her a third video and she said ‘I don’t need to see anymore,’” the detective noted in the report.
Kiner was arrested and booked into the Hancock County Jail.
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