Suspect accused of stealing from both Waupaca Kwik Trips
Christian M. Grace, 40, St. Francis, was charged in Waupaca County with identity theft, misdemeanor theft and retail theft.
On Sept. 3, an employee of the Kwik Trip on West Fulton Street in Waupaca reported a man stole a pair of headphones.
According to the criminal complaint, security video showed the man entering the store with only a cellphone.
He then allegedly went to the register with two sets of headphones and said he was returning one of them in exchange for the other.
When the transaction was completed, the man exited the store with one set of headphones and a cash refund on the other set, the complaint says.
At the time, nobody knew who the man was.
Officer Ryan Makuski posted a photo of the man at the Waupaca police station in an effort to identify him.
On Oct. 20, the Kwik Trip on County Trunk QQ in Waupaca reported a man attempted to buy tobacco products and a cellphone charger with what appeared to be a stolen credit card.
When the man tried to swipe the card, it returned a hold status.
A day earlier, a Waupaca woman had reported her credit card was stolen.
The man was later identified as Grace due to the car he was in when he went to Kwik Trip.
Waupaca Police Officer Tom Grant later located the car at the Ramada Inn in Waupaca.
Grant and Waupaca County Deputy Brittany Mathewson went to the room where Grace was staying.
A woman answered the door, then exited the room when Grant and Mathewson entered.
The officers reported finding Grace hiding on the floor between the bed and the wall.
When asked how he came to obtain the stolen credit card, Grace allegedly said he found “a bunch of cards” on the sidewalk.
Grace remains in custody on a probation hold from Outagamie County where he was convicted on Oct. 25, 2018, of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of retail theft, two counts of disorderly conduct and two counts misdemeanor bail jumping.