Felicia Holland and her husband were jointly indicted and charged with theft by shoplifting and two counts of obstruction.1 Following a joint trial, the jury acquitted Holland’s husband on all counts, but found Holland guilty of theft by shoplifting.2 The trial court sentenced Holland as a recidivist to serve 10 years. Following the denial of her motion for new trial, Holland appeals, citing several claims of error. Having reviewed these claims, we affirm the judgment of conviction, but vacate Holland’s sentence and remand the case for re-sentencing. The record reveals that a drug store employee heard a man and a woman whispering in one of the store aisles. The employee thought it was unusual and asked if she could assist them and the couple “said no.” The employee noticed that the couple had several cans of powder baby formula and a pack of diapers in their shopping cart. She alerted other store personnel because large amounts of baby formula were “not something normally purchased” from a drug store because the price there was higher than at a grocery store.
After alerting other store personnel, the employee saw the couple again and noticed that the formula “was not viewable,” but that the two had a large bag that was “bulgy from something inside it.” When she saw the man bring two shirts over to the cart and place them on top of the bag, she went to the stockroom to call security. After the employee returned, she noticed the shopping cart was empty except for the pack of diapers. She ran to the front of the store and saw the couple walking out the front door with the woman carrying the bag. The employee followed the two out to the parking lot where she confronted them, telling them that she knew “they had taken something.” The man and the woman drove away “very hurriedly,” with the woman driving the van.
