3 women charged in scam to return stolen goods to Rock Hill stores

Three Lancaster women were arrested Wednesday, accused of running a scam to return stolen goods to a string of Rock Hill stores in exchange for gift cards.

The women were spotted by Rock Hill police entering and exiting several stores on John Ross Parkway in the Manchester area, carrying items and a list of businesses marked with dollar amounts.

Theresa Clark Chandler, 56, Melissa Sue Meyer, 25, and Brittany Nicole Rivers, 27, were each charged with obtaining money under false pretenses, and Chandler and Rivers were also charged with criminal conspiracy, according to Rock Hill Police.

When officers approached the women around 6:45 p.m., they found the women had a “multi-page list of businesses that appeared to be alphabetically arranged,” according to the incident report.

The officers discovered Meyer was wanted by the S.C. Department of Probation, Pardon and Parole, and took her into custody. Under questioning, Meyer reportedly told officers the three came to the shopping center with items previously stolen by someone else. She and Rivers “scouted” the stores to see which employees were working, she reportedly said, and then Chandler returned the items for gift cards the women planned to exchange for money at Lancaster pawn shops.

Officers spoke with an employee of the most recent store on the list, who confirmed the store had exchanged a gift card for merchandise returned without a receipt. A search of Chandler’s purse reportedly uncovered two other gift cards with a total value of $231, and the women’s car contained around $300 worth of other, presumably stolen items.

The report notes that because of Meyer’s cooperation, officers did not charge her with criminal conspiracy.

This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 4:41 PM with the headline "3 women charged in scam to return stolen goods to Rock Hill stores."