Schuylkill County Walmart Employee Charged After Audit Finds Cash Shortages Totaling $625

Julio Gutierrez, 40, of Hazleton, has been charged after a store-level cash audit and surveillance review allegedly tied six cash shortages totaling $625 to a single register at the Auto Care Center of a Schuylkill County Walmart. Saint Clair police were called to the store late last month after management flagged the pattern.

The alleged thefts occurred between Oct. 9 and Nov. 7 last year and add up to $625 across six incidents: four incidents of $100, one incident of $145, and one incident of $85. Management’s counts and the surveillance review are the basis for the totals reported to police.

Investigators say the surveillance footage shows a consistent method. “In nearly all the incidents, police say Gutierrez is seen on video getting the cash drawer open either by ringing out a customer or putting in a fake transaction if a customer pays by credit or debit card to get the cash drawer to open.” One alleged scene captured on video showed Gutierrez scan a Mountain Dew, “doesn’t put any money in the register for it, but takes out cash.” In another, he “scanned an air freshener, puts $1 in the cash drawer and takes out more money.”

Store management initiated a focused internal theft investigation after noticing the repeated discrepancies. As the Coal Region Canary item summarized the store review, “they had noticed numerous cash shortages on a single register at the Auto Care Center in a short amount of time,” prompting staff to pull surveillance footage and involve police.

When confronted about the alleged shortages, Gutierrez “allegedly told police Walmart was not paying him enough money and that he was sending money to his mother, who was sick and lived out of state,” an explanation recorded in the police narrative provided to prosecutors.

Local prosecutors have filed misdemeanor counts of theft and receiving stolen property against Gutierrez. “Gutierrez has been charged with misdemeanor counts of theft and receiving stolen property. He’s been ordered to appear at a preliminary hearing on those charges at District Court in Port Carbon on March 31,” court paperwork shows.

The allegations remain to be proven in court; the scheduled March 31 preliminary hearing in District Court in Port Carbon will determine whether the case moves forward on the current charges.