OKEECHOBEE — After money seemed to keep disappearing from her business, a local store owner set up her own sting operation to catch the thief.
Niki Salmon, who owns The Rustic Store, said her sister, who runs the store for her, thought she was going crazy because money kept disappearing, and she had locked everything. They tried changing the locks, but that did not help. Finally, Salmon decided to install a hidden security camera without telling anyone, including her sister. She reported she received a notification from the camera system telling her there was motion in the store, and she opened the app to see Desiree Paulus in the store. Paulus worked for Salmon’s sister in her home and had apparently made a copy of her key to the store.
Salmon said she decided to see if Paulus would continue taking money, so she put two $100 bills under the change tray in the register in hope that law enforcement would find the bills on her. Prior to placing the bills in the drawer, Salmon wrote down the serial numbers of the bills and took photo copies of the bills as well. She then texted Paulus under the pretext of looking for her sister and mentioned that her sister had made a big sale that day and she wanted to congratulate her. Later, Salmon received a notification of motion in the store and reportedly saw Paulus in the store.
Salmon immediately called the Okeechobee City Police Department.
Officer Brandon Adkins responded to the scene and viewed the security footage. He reportedly saw Paulus enter the establishment, walk directly to the register, reach under the register to open it, stand there for a short time, close the door and then exit.
Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Deputy Stephen Paladino responded to Paulus’ residence on Northeast 40th Avenue along with Officers Cody Daigneault and Brandon Adkins. They asked her if they could search her vehicle, but she reportedly refused. She did however allow them to search her purse, where they reportedly found two $100 bills with the same serial numbers Salmon gave Officer Adkins. A further search of her purse reportedly unearthed an oxycodone hydrochloride pill.
Paulus, 34, was charged with burglary to an unoccupied structure. Her bond was set at $3,500.