Hastings Woman Charged After Prosecutors Allege More Than $1,800 in Walmart Theft Attempts and Theft
Published: July 7th, 2026
HASTINGS MN: A Hastings woman has been charged with a felony after prosecutors allege she stole, or attempted to steal, more than $1,800 worth of merchandise during three separate incidents at a Walmart store in Hastings.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Dakota County, Dawn Marie Anderson, 52, is charged with one count of theft by aggregation involving more than $1,000 but not more than $5,000. The charge stems from incidents alleged to have occurred between May 11 and June 21, 2026.
According to the complaint, Hastings police responded to the Hastings Walmart on July 5 after store loss prevention staff reported a series of theft incidents involving the same suspect.
Prosecutors allege the first incident occurred on May 11, when Anderson filled a shopping cart with merchandise and pushed it past all points of sale without paying. A loss prevention employee confronted her after she passed the security gates and asked her to return to the store. According to the complaint, Anderson grabbed her purse and left, abandoning the cart. Police reviewed surveillance video, and the recovered merchaHastings Woman Charged After Prosecutors Allege More Than $1,800 in Walmart Theft Attempts and Theftndise was valued at $716.17.
The complaint alleges Anderson returned on June 7, loaded another shopping cart with merchandise, and exited the store without paying. Surveillance video allegedly showed her loading the merchandise into a vehicle bearing a Minnesota license plate registered to Anderson. The stolen merchandise was valued at approximately $128.37, according to the complaint.
A third incident allegedly occurred on June 21, when Anderson again filled a shopping cart with merchandise and pushed it past the checkout lanes and security gates. According to the complaint, a store employee grabbed the cart near the entrance as Anderson attempted to leave. After being unable to push the cart out of the store, prosecutors allege Anderson took her purse from the cart, left the merchandise behind, and walked away. The abandoned merchandise was valued at approximately $974.17.
Investigators compared surveillance footage from all three incidents with Anderson's driver's license photographs and concluded the same individual appeared in each case, according to the complaint. Police also located the vehicle allegedly seen in the surveillance videos at Anderson's Hastings residence before taking her into custody.
The complaint alleges the combined value of the merchandise involved in the three incidents totaled approximately $1,818.71.
The charge is an allegation, and Anderson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.