LINKEDIN 2 COMMENTMORE

A Hartland couple stands accused of stealing old car batteries from several area Walmart stores and using the money they made from reselling them for scrap to fund their heroin addictions.

Jason Shartle and Shannon Stelloh, both 40, were charged Jan. 22 in Waukesha County Circuit Court with two misdemeanor counts each of theft of movable property.

According to a criminal complaint, the couple made a habit of driving around to local Walmart stores and breaking into locked storage areas early in the morning to steal old car batteries, usually about 20 at a time.

Walmart collects and recycles those batteries at no cost to customers.

When arrested for the thefts, Shartle reportedly told police, "I did it," and explained that he and Stelloh would take the batteries and resell them at scrap yards in Milwaukee County.

They would then use the money they made from those transactions — usually about $160 — to feed their heroin addictions, Shartle said, according to the complaint.

He reportedly told investigators that he would be willing to compensate Walmart for its losses.

Court records indicate that Shartle and Stelloh are free on $1,000 signature bonds. They are both scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial conference on March 20.

If convicted, Shartle and Stelloh could each face up to almost two years behind bars and $20,000 in fines.

Top Headlines Around the Community:

A new treatment may give a blind Wauwatosa toddler the gift of sight

Boston Market on Bluemound Road in Brookfield is closed

Pewaukee woman charged with homicide in fatal Lisbon crash to appear again in court Feb. 5

Autoplay
Show Thumbnails
Show Captions
LINKEDIN 2 COMMENTMORE
Read or Share this story: https://jsonl.in/2FjIr70