Blackfoot woman connected to several Pocatello burglaries charged with grand theft
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POCATELLO — A woman police say was involved in a series of thefts from multiple local hardware stores has been charged with a number of felonies.
Frankee Toni Currie, 26, faces felony charges for grand larceny, grand theft, and three counts of burglary, court records show. Between nine separate incidents, police reports show that Currie, and a male accomplice who is yet to be charged, allegedly stole around $4,500 worth of items.
May 11, 2022
Pocatello police received a call reporting a series of thefts at a local hardware store on May 11, according to an affidavit of probable cause. A store employee told officers that a man and woman were recorded entering the store and exiting with merchandise they did not pay for on seven separate occasions. The total value of the stolen merchandise was over $2,000, the affidavit says.
A loss prevention officer at the store said they saw the woman, later identified as Currie, enter the store that day. While inside, the employee said that Currie put three items in a cart, then headed toward the lawn and garden exit.
Because store staff had identified this exit as the one used in previous incidences, the employee was waiting for Currie at the exit.
When Currie saw the employee, she allegedly pushed the cart carrying the three items at the employee. She then grabbed one of the items, left the cart, and ran for a car, where the male accomplice was waiting.
An officer spoke with the owner of a local car dealership about the vehicle used for the getaway. The dealership owner told police that a man and woman took the car for a test drive and provided the officers with identifying information.
Officers were provided with surveillance footage from all seven thefts.
While reviewing the footage, officers noted that Currie and the man arrived for the first five in a white Chevrolet Malibu with no license plate. Each time, the duo entered the store with a cart, took several items off the shelf, and walked out of the lawn and garden center without paying, according to the affidavit.
May 16, 2022
Five days later, Pocatello police received a call from a different local hardware store reporting two thefts resulting in a total loss of more than $2,300.
Officers identified the alleged thieves as the same man and woman from the first store.
Police have not yet located the male involved in the thefts. The female, Currie, was not located until she was booked at the Fort Hall Jail in October. Bannock County Sheriff’s deputies placed her under arrest for the Pocatello charges in Fort Hall and took her to Bannock County Jail.
She is being held on two separate $50,000 bonds.
Though Currie has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean she committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If she is found guilty, Currie could face up to 58 years in prison.
She is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing before magistrate judge Eric Hunn on Jan. 10.