COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A case involving the alleged theft of a large amount of merchandise from the Coldwater Meijer store has been bound over to Branch County Circuit Court.
36-year old Derek Butler of Coldwater is facing three counts of first degree retail fraud.
He is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial conference on April 30th.
According to Coldwater Police, nearly $10,000 worth of items were reported stolen on November 23 and November 29, 2017. The surveillance camera at Meijer spotted the license plate on the car used in the thefts and allowed police eventually to learn where Butler lived.
A search warrant signed in early February allowed officers to enter the suspect’s home on West Chicago Street where they found much of the merchandise including TV’s, computers, electronic games, drones and children’s toys. Police also said items taken from the Walmart store in Coldwater were discovered at Butler’s residence.
