Trial set for man accused of stealing over $2k from hardware store
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IDAHO FALLS – An Ammon man who reportedly stole thousands of dollars from a hardware store will now stand trial.
Dennis M. Garrett, 50, is scheduled for a jury trial in front of District Judge Michael Whyte on April 11. Garrett pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a felony charge of grand larceny.
In July, Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of theft at Ace Hardware in Ammon. A manager at the store told deputies that an employee, identified as Garrett, had been stealing from the store “on a daily basis.”
When the manager confronted Garrett about the thefts, he was only aware of one incident on July 5. The manager told Garrett to quit rather than face possible charges. Garrett left and had not been back since, according to the manager.
The owner and manager of the store later began reviewing security footage and return receipts, where they realized there had been many more alleged incidents than the one on July 5.
According to police reports, the manager saw over the course of many hours of security footage, that Garrett would “choose a recent cash-only purchase from the store,” process the return and keep the receipt.
Later, when closing out the registers, Garrett would reportedly “(take) the cash tills from the registers to the safe in the back. Using the return receipt (Garrett) would remove the cash from the till and leave with it.”
Deputies were shown the security footage and noticed there is no actual video of Garrett removing the cash from the tills at night. There was also no footage “showing the merchandise from the processed returns returning to the store,” according to police reports.
The manager estimated that Garrett had stolen over $1,000 in cash from the store. After reviewing all of the footage, the manager found that $2114.07 had actually been stolen.
He also told deputies that “all the falsely reported returned property was still missing from the store,” according to court documents.
A warrant was issued for Garrett’s arrest on Oct. 19, and his bond was set to $2,500. He posted bail on Oct. 27 and was released.
Though Garrett has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If convicted, he could face up to 14 years in prison.