Teen Andrew Reed Arrested in North Huntingdon After Nearly 100 Walmart Thefts

Employees at the Walmart on Mills Drive in North Huntingdon stopped an 18-year-old man as he tried to complete a fraudulent self-checkout transaction, then called police, who detained him in the store parking lot. North Huntingdon Police said the attempted purchase involved two video game consoles and two virtual reality headsets with a combined value of more than $2,100, and that the man left the store without the merchandise before officers stopped him.

Patrolman Brendan Duffy, citing the criminal complaint, reported he “observed a man walking away from loss prevention employees. The man, later identified as Reed, walked toward a police cruiser after being requested to do so.” Authorities identified the suspect as Andrew L. Reed, an 18-year-old from Detroit, Michigan.

The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office told investigators Reed is linked to a much larger pattern. Records in a Walmart loss-prevention database tied to the investigation list 97 separate incidents attributed to Reed, with alleged stolen merchandise totaling in the neighborhood of $146,000 to $146,500. Authorities also reported Reed had multiple active arrest warrants across the United States and had been trespassed from Walmart stores in Indiana, Florida and Arkansas.

After the parking-lot stop, Reed was arraigned before North Huntingdon District Judge Henry Moore on charges that include retail theft, theft by deception, criminal use of a communication facility and trespassing. Court paperwork shows Reed did not have an attorney listed at arraignment. He was denied bail and placed in Westmoreland County custody; officials described him as booked without bail and held in the county prison or jail pending further proceedings.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 6 in North Huntingdon. Prosecutors have said the loss-prevention database entries and the Feb. 19 incident at the Mills Drive Walmart form the basis for the charges and the broader cross-country theft allegations tied to Reed.