Detroit Lakes woman charged after Walmart theft attempt in Fergus Falls

A Detroit Lakes woman faces charges after authorities said she tried to leave the Fergus Falls Walmart with nearly $3,900 in merchandise, despite already having been trespassed from the store. The case now sits in Otter Tail County District Court, where the amount involved and the alleged trespass raise the stakes beyond a routine retail-theft complaint.

Court records and law enforcement accounts say the incident happened April 14 at the Walmart in Fergus Falls. Johnson is accused of attempting to steal almost $3,900 worth of items, a sum that represents a significant loss for a single retail stop and helps explain why the case was filed in court rather than treated as a simple citation.

The charging decision also reflects how Minnesota law can turn an in-store theft allegation into a burglary case. Under state statute, a person who enters a building without consent and steals, or intends to steal, while inside can be charged with third-degree burglary. In this case, the alleged trespass mattered because it meant Johnson was not simply accused of shoplifting from a public retail space; authorities said she had already been barred from the store before the incident.

Johnson’s case carries added context because she previously was convicted of a theft incident at the Detroit Lakes Walmart in Becker County in 2024. That history gives the Fergus Falls case a repeat-offense backdrop that prosecutors and retailers often watch closely, particularly when the alleged loss is measured in thousands of dollars rather than dollars and change.

Otter Tail County District Court, based at the courthouse in Fergus Falls, has original jurisdiction over criminal cases filed in the county. Public district court records and documents can be searched through Minnesota Court Records Online, which allows residents to follow filings and future hearings as the case moves through the system.