An 18-year-old Miami woman is facing serious criminal charges after authorities allege she participated in a sophisticated shoplifting scheme at a Walmart store in Palm Beach County. The arrest highlights the growing problem of retail theft schemes that cost stores millions of dollars annually across the United States.
The Alleged Barcode Switching Scheme
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Tammye A. Ovalle-Enireb was arrested on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, and charged with multiple offenses including larceny, retail theft fraud, and accessory after the fact. The charges stem from an incident that occurred on June 3, 2026, at the Walmart located at 9990 Belvedere Road in Royal Palm Beach.
Investigators say Ovalle-Enireb and her co-defendant, 22-year-old Daruin J. Gutierrez De La Rosa, allegedly employed a common retail theft tactic known as barcode switching. The scheme involves scanning barcodes for lower-priced items while actually taking more expensive merchandise out of the store.
“The employee was able to determine that the items scanned should have totaled $661.74,” according to the official Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office report detailing the incident.
The pair reportedly paid only $105.01 for merchandise that was actually worth more than six times that amount, resulting in an alleged theft of over $556 in goods. De La Rosa allegedly used two different credit cards to complete the fraudulent transaction at the self-checkout register before the duo attempted to exit the store.
How the Suspects Were Caught
The alleged scheme began to unravel when a vigilant Walmart employee observed the suspicious activity at the self-checkout area. After watching the two suspects scan items, the employee became suspicious and decided to intervene before they could leave the premises with the merchandise.
The investigation revealed the following sequence of events:
- The suspects scanned barcodes for cheaper items while placing expensive merchandise in their cart
- De La Rosa paid a total of $105.01 using two separate credit cards
- A store employee confronted the pair and requested to verify their receipt
- After briefly complying, both suspects fled to a green Toyota Corolla in the parking lot
- The suspects abandoned the merchandise in a shopping cart with the employee
The store employee’s quick thinking proved crucial to the investigation. By obtaining the vehicle’s license plate number and providing surveillance footage to deputies, law enforcement was able to trace the Toyota Corolla back to Ovalle-Enireb, who was listed as the registered owner.
Investigation Leads to Identification and Arrest
The investigation took an interesting turn when deputies reached out to Ovalle-Enireb’s mother, who positively identified her daughter in the surveillance footage. She also identified the male suspect as her daughter’s boyfriend, though she did not know his name at the time.
Through further investigative work, deputies discovered that the couple resided at an apartment complex on Lake Crystal Drive in West Palm Beach. The apartment complex manager confirmed that De La Rosa was the official renter living with Ovalle-Enireb at the residence.
Identifying De La Rosa presented a unique challenge for investigators, as his only form of identification was a Dominican Republic passport. Law enforcement used a photograph from this passport to create a photo lineup, which the Walmart employee used to positively identify De La Rosa as the male suspect involved in the alleged theft.
Retail Theft Remains a Growing Concern
This case represents just one example of the retail theft epidemic affecting businesses across South Florida and the entire nation. Barcode switching schemes have become increasingly common as stores have expanded their self-checkout options, giving criminals more opportunities to exploit the system.
Retailers lose billions of dollars annually to organized retail crime and individual theft schemes. Many stores have responded by increasing security measures, hiring loss prevention specialists, and installing more sophisticated surveillance systems to combat these crimes.
Both suspects now face serious legal consequences that could include significant jail time and fines. The charges of larceny and retail theft fraud carry substantial penalties under Florida law, particularly when the value of stolen goods exceeds certain thresholds.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate whether the suspects may have been involved in similar schemes at other retail locations in the area. Authorities encourage anyone with information about retail theft operations to contact local law enforcement.
