Woodland police arrested two people last week on suspicion of conspiring to embezzle goods from a local home-improvement store.
Sgt. Brett Hancock said the investigation began Wednesday morning when workers at the Home Depot store on East Main Street reported that one employee “was not charging a specific customer for merchandise and allowing the customer to leave. This had been occurring over the last three weeks.”
Officers arrested the employee, 24-year-old Dora Del Real Hidalgo of rural Yolo County, on suspicion of embezzlement and conspiracy. The customer, Woodland resident Rafael Chavez, 36, was arrested on similar charges when he returned to the store later that day, Hancock said.
Both suspects were lodged at the Yolo County Jail. Hancock said the total amount allegedly stolen from the Home Depot store is still being calculated.