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She stole from a St. Petersburg Walmart, then hid drugs in body on way to jail, police say

 
Police said Rachelle Marie Tocco was caught sneaking drugs into Pinellas County Jail after being arrested for stealing from Walmart. [Pinellas County Sheriff's Office]
Police said Rachelle Marie Tocco was caught sneaking drugs into Pinellas County Jail after being arrested for stealing from Walmart. [Pinellas County Sheriff's Office]
Published Aug. 1, 2018

ST. PETERSBURG — A St. Petersburg woman arrested for shoplifting from a Walmart was also caught free-basing in the back of a police cruiser and sneaking drugs into county jail, police said.

According to an arrest report, Rachelle Marie Tocco, 30, was arrested Sunday after an off-duty officer witnessed her stealing clothes and hiding them in a lunchbox. Police said she would push a cart into walkways to check for employees, then retreat into the aisle to hide more clothes in the lunchbox, shielding her face when she saw employees walk by.

Tocco was stopped while leaving the store and admitted to stealing, police said.

While being transported to county jail, police said Tocco was observed smoking something in the back of the cruiser. The officer said the back of the car had been empty before arresting Tocco. According to an arrest report, Tocco was removed from the back of the cruiser and had her hands down her pants. The officer couldn't find anything in the cruiser or on Tocco's person – until she got to jail.

After arriving at the county jail, police said Tocco removed a "crack pipe with cocaine residue" and 4.5 grams of alprazolam, also known by the brand name Xanax, from her vagina during a search.

Tocco was charged with felony petit theft, possession of cocaine, possession of alprazolam and two counts of introducing contraband into a county detention facility.

She is currently being held in County jail.

Daniel Figueroa IV can be reached at dfigueroa@tampabay.com. Follow @danuscripts