A Georgia pharmacy had been one of the top lottery sales stores in the state — and a local police chief found out why when he reviewed the surveillance footage.
The surprisingly high sales of lottery tickets alerted officials to a possible problem, Danielsville Police Chief Brenan Baird told Online Athens.
Danielsville is about 86 miles northwest of Atlanta and 16 miles north of Athens.
The chief said he watched in shock as a Rite Aid employee suspected of stealing cash used money from the register to play the lottery, according to a police report.
Vickie Jean Matthews, 51, of Danielsville, allegedly took the money, bought lottery tickets, scratched them off, cashed them out and repeated the process on numerous occasions.
“On several days of surveillance I watched Vickie unlock the store, get the systems up and running, and then begin to play the lottery,” Baird said.
Matthews, a 19-year employee, told police she was only “borrowing” the money.
Two more employees — Robin Booth Mathis, 55, and Dianna Eve Farr, 50, — were accused of taking money during the investigation, the report said. The two were working separately.
They were arrested and charged with theft along with Matthews.
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