Alta Casey’s clerk accused of stealing $1,587 in lottery tickets

A Casey’s in Alta became the center of a felony theft case after investigators said a 22-year-old clerk took $1,587 in Iowa Lottery tickets from the store at 303 E. Hwy. 7. The allegations put a familiar local retailer under a spotlight and raised questions about how cash-value tickets are monitored once they leave the counter.

According to the Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Office, deputies learned on March 9 that an investigation was already underway at the Alta store. Investigators say the alleged losses involved both scratch-off and instant-play tickets taken between Jan. 1 and March 5. The case matters because lottery tickets are not ordinary merchandise: under Iowa Code section 99G.36, theft or fraud involving a lottery ticket or share is a Class D felony, which moves the allegation well beyond a simple shoplifting complaint.

Melinda Peterson, 22, of Alta, was charged with two counts of forgery or theft of a lottery ticket and second-degree theft, all Class D felonies. Investigators say Peterson later admitted taking lottery tickets without paying for them while she worked there. She also reportedly acknowledged winning three $500 prizes, though she could not identify the specific tickets or say where those winnings were redeemed. That gap is part of what makes these cases difficult for retailers and law enforcement: once lottery tickets are removed from the store, the paper trail can quickly thin.

Peterson was later fired by Casey’s. She posted a $5,000 bond on March 28 and was represented by Steven Goodlow. Court records show she has pleaded not guilty, with a pretrial conference set for Aug. 13 and a jury trial scheduled for Sept. 15 at the Buena Vista County Courthouse.

Casey’s, which started in Boone in 1968, says it now operates more than 2,900 stores in 19 states. The Alta location is part of that larger network, but the alleged losses hit a small-town store with day-to-day ties to local customers, employees and the Iowa Lottery system. The Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Office, based in Storm Lake, is handling the case as the county’s public-safety docket continues to reflect how even routine retail jobs can carry serious legal exposure when cash-value products are involved.