A Riverton woman is facing 20 years in prison for repeat shoplifting offenses under a new felony charge that debuted this summer. 

Beatrice Monroe was the first in Fremont County charged under the new law, which gives prosecutors the ability to seek bigger penalties for offenders who continue to shoplift in Wyoming. After four prior convictions in 10 years, a fifth shoplifting charge can now become a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Monroe was charged with two counts under the new statute. 

Local prosecutor and Rep. Ember Oakley (R-Riverton) was the bill’s chief sponsor during the last legislative session, which she told her colleagues was in response to “organized retail theft,” a growing concern in Riverton. Dubbed Riverton’s “ribeye ring,” supporters alleged that shoplifters frequently nab expensive meats, electronics, and other items for resale. 

“Theft is a very significant issue in my community,” Oakley told the Judiciary Committee as the bill made its way through the Capitol. Much of that theft, she said, is organized, with offenders stealing items that can be easily resold. 

“One of the big things to steal in our county is meat,” she explained. 

The argument that people are just hungry, Oakley stated, “doesn’t fit. They are taking good meat, high end meat, volumes of it, and there’s a resale market.” 

Offenders have told her and other prosecutors, when moving through the court system, that “It’s just business,” she explained. 

Is prison time a good way to combat retail theft? Not everyone who testified about the bill was convinced. 

Former Wyoming Representative and current Americans for Prosperity President Tyler Lindholm said the theft bill could produce unintended consequences for someone who was convicted of a string of thefts, “And then down the road they want to feed their babies.” 

Theft isn’t right, he testified before the committee, but he feared that the timeline for the legislation, along with the felony mandate, could end up ruining a person’s life who is trying to turn it around.

The first charges

Monroe was charged with two counts of felony theft — fifth or subsequent offense, with a roster of prior convictions listed dating back to 2012. She was convicted of one count of theft in 2021, along with eight shoplifting offenses. She was also charged with one count of misdemeanor theft. 

Monroe was caught on surveillance footage at the Riverton Walmart leaving with a cartful of unpaid items on September 29, including shirts, diapers, laundry soap, and other clothing items, with a retail value of $188.79. 

In August, she also allegedly attempted to leave the Walmart with five juveniles with unpaid items through the store’s south entrance, but they were thwarted and abandoned the cart in the parking lot. The cart contained $1,894.48 in items, including kitchen supplies, clothes, a Bose soundbar, another soundbar, speakers, stereo accessories, a camera, and other items. 

According to the affidavit, Monroe attempted to distract a nearby store associate while the juveniles left with the cart. 

On May 29, she allegedly left an emergency exit in the Walmart garden center with a cartful of items valued at $456.88, including a subwoofer, speaker and an air conditioner. On May 14, she allegedly again pushed a cart past the self checkout containing $152.95, including a dozen roses, two rugs and an inflatable pool.

Investigators found Monroe had been officially trespassed from the Riverton Walmart in June 2013.