CROCKETT, Texas (KETK) – A woman has been arrested in Texas for allegedly attempting to purchase another woman’s child at Walmart while they were in the self-checkout line.
The incident happened last week at a Walmart in Crockett, according to The Messenger, a local news outlet.
Police records show Rebecca Lanette Taylor, 49, of Crockett was detained on Jan. 18 and charged with the sale or purchase of a child, which is a third-degree felony. Taylor was booked into the Houston County Jail, where she was being held on a $50,000 bond.
An affidavit of probable cause filed by Lt. Ahleea Price with the Crockett Police Department described how she got a phone call from the mother of the child “advising a white woman with blonde hair approached her in the Crockett Walmart, wanting to purchase her son.”
The mother of the child told Price she was waiting to use the self-checkout. She had a baby in a car seat and her one-year-old in the cart.
Taylor “began commenting on her son’s blonde hair and blue eyes. She asked how much she could purchase him for. (The mom) tried to laugh this comment off, thinking Taylor was joking. Taylor told her that she had $250,000 in the car and she would pay that much for him. (The mom) told her no amount of money would do,” wrote authorities.
Taylor continued to bring up the topic, and the mother told her to stay away from her son. Taylor said she had been looking forward to buying a baby for some time, according to law enforcement.
The mother later went to inform Lt. Price that Taylor was with another woman who appeared to be Hispanic. The second woman asked what the child’s name was, but the mother did not share this information with them.
Taylor and the other woman somehow knew the child’s name and called it out.
The mother waited for the two women to leave Walmart, then she also left and headed to her car. In the parking lot, “Taylor began screaming at (the mom), saying if she wouldn’t take $250,000 for him, then she would give her $500,000 because she wanted him and she was going to take him,” said the affidavit.
The mother locked her children in her car. Taylor stood behind a black SUV that was next to the mom’s vehicle. Taylor allegedly kept saying she wanted the child and would pay $500,000 for him. She then got into the black SUV and left.
Price saw the surveillance footage from Walmart and said in the affidavit that it matched with what the mother had said.
The officer later went to Taylor’s residence to ask her questions about the situation.
“She told me that she doesn’t like thieves, then she stated I could speak with her attorney and to get off her ‘precipice.’ She slammed the door shut,” Price said in the affidavit.
Price also shared details about the incident with Houston County District Attorney Donna Kaspar, and a warrant was signed for Taylor’s arrest.
If found guilty of a third-degree felony, Taylor could face up to 10 years in prison or “not … less than two years,” as well as a fine of up to $10,000, per Section 12.34 of the Texas Penal Code.
