CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Cranberry Township police have charged two Michigan men, accused of stealing nearly $5,000 worth of electronics from Walmart by posing as Spark drivers.
Police said Darnell Rakestraw and Trey Nunlee pretended to be Walmart Spark drivers on June 30.
Spark is Walmart’s delivery service that allows drivers to accept curbside pickup orders, shop inside stores for customers, and handle customer returns.
“Disgusting,” said one shopper, who did not want to be on camera.
According to police paperwork, Rakestraw entered the store around 7 p.m. and picked up two Nintendo Switch consoles and two PlayStation 5 systems. Police said he returned about two hours later and picked up two more Nintendo Switch consoles and a Meta Quest virtual reality headset.
Investigators said Rakestraw walked to the front of the store and left without paying on both occasions.
Police said Nunlee arrived about 30 minutes after Rakestraw left and picked up two additional PlayStation 5 systems.
The electronics were kept behind lock and key.
But by pretending to be Spark Shoppers, police said, the two men were able to gain access to the items that are typically reserved for Walmart employees.
Some shoppers said they believe stronger verification measures may be needed for Spark drivers.
“Gutsy would be a word for it. I think brazen is another word,” said Rob Choinere of Pine Township. “There’s obviously a moral problem there with those folks, but also the cost comes along to the consumer. We end up having to pay for that, so everybody gets hurt.”
A Walmart spokesperson sent Channel 11 a statement saying, “We take incidents like this seriously and will continue working with law enforcement.”
Some shoppers think there needs to be stronger verification measures for Spark drivers.
“Well, I’m not really familiar with how Spark works, but there may be some more background checking or something where they’re able to screen as the transaction’s being conducted,” Choinere said. ”Maybe something’s slipped through there.”
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