ABERDEEN, N.C. — A woman has been arrested in connection to a 2023 iPhone theft that was staged and sold at a Walmart in Moore County.
The incident began on December 2, 2023, when Aberdeen police were called to Walmart on Turner Street. A woman claimed her iPhone was stolen inside the store and said that her phone’s location was tracked to the ecoATM kiosk. Officers helped the woman retrieve her phone after contacting the company.
However, the investigation didn’t end there. Police reviewed surveillance footage from inside the store and the parking lot and discovered that the woman had made false statements during her report. Further investigation revealed that the woman knew the person who sold her phone to the ecoATM and had arrived at Walmart in the same vehicle as the seller.
Based on the findings, police filed warrants for Tiffany Jean Cotten, 27, of Cameron, on charges of felony aid and abet and misdemeanor filing a false police report.
On Friday, April 5, Cotten was located by Fort Bragg Military Police and taken into custody. A magistrate set her bond at $5,000.
