CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — An assistant manager at a Clearwater Dollar Tree was arrested Monday after using her 15-year-old son to stage a robbery in a plot to steal from the store, according to police.
The Clearwater Police Department said Melisha Ford, 37, of Clearwater was tasked to collect the cash revenue at the store on Highland Avenue after closing the store as part of her job. She was supposed to then put the cash in a money bag and drop the deposits into a lock box at a bank.
However, from Aug. 13 to Aug. 15, the deposits never made it to the bank. According to police, the Dollar Tree district manager discovered this and arranged a meeting with Ford and loss prevention to discuss the situation.
An arrest affidavit said Ford then repeated the process on Aug. 19 and 20.
On Aug. 21, she staged a robbery by having her 15-year-old son rob her with a BB gun while she closed the store to pocket the day’s earnings, according to police. She then made a false 911 call about the fake robbery.
Clearwater police said Ford admitted to taking the money and staging the robbery. In total, she had stolen over $5,000 in her scheme, the affidavit said.
Ford was taken into custody on charges for scheme to defraud and false report of crime.