Ruthie Marie Murphree, 39, of 800 W. Marcy Apt. 22, was arrested Sunday on a charge of robbery after she and a 13-year-old suspect allegedly attempted to leave the Wal-Mart SuperCenter without paying for their items.
According to Sgt. Tony Everett, public information officer with the BSPD, a security official with the store's asset protection department attempted to stop Murphree and the juvenile in the store's parking lot when things became violent.
“The call came in at the police department at approximately 3:39 p.m.,” said Everett. “Apparently, the person with the store's asset protection department had spotted the two women stealing and confronted them about it in the parking lot. The altercation became physical, which upgraded the crime from theft to robbery.”
Everett said no major injuries were sustained as a result of the altercation, and no one was transported by ambulance.
Both subjects were arrested and charged with robbery, according to Everett. Murphree was booked into the Howard County Jail later in the day.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it