Sex offender uses Walmart self-checkout scam to buy a crossbow – as cops hunt pervert on bizarre charge
Philadelphia police are searching for a registered sex offender who managed to scam Walmart with a crossbow.
Cumberland County detectives are searching for Shawn Whiddon, 51, after he fled with the gun in Lower Allen Township on Tuesday.
Police said Whiddon was able to scan a barcode that identified it as a child’s crossbow worth $25, but made off with an adult crossbow worth $239.
Officers suspect Whiddon committed a similar theft at another store nearby and are looking for him for unauthorized use of a computer and shoplifting.
Whiddon was placed on the sex offender registry after being convicted in 2001 of attempted carnal knowledge.
Cumberland County detectives are searching for Shawn Whiddon, 51, after he fled with the gun in Lower Allen Township on Tuesday
Police said Whiddon was able to scan a barcode that registered as a $25 children’s crossbow, but walked away with an adult crossbow worth $239.
The incident took place in Bedford County, Virginia, and he was originally charged with “indecent exposure of a child.”
Further details of the case are unclear at this time. He was ordered to have no contact with his victim and sentenced to three years in prison.
In November 2007, Whiddon was also arrested after robbing a bank in Augusta, Georgia, for over $4,100.
Court documents seen by DailyMail.com show he walked into Regions Bank and told the teller: “I need all your hundreds, fifties and twenties.”
The cashier said she initially thought Whiddon was joking when he laughed, before adding: “This is not a joke. No dice or bait money. Don’t make me come back and don’t hurt anyone. I’m desperate.”
Officers found his abandoned car nearby after the incident, with handwritten notes asking for money from the bank. However, the man did not use these notes in the robbery.
When police arrested him at a motel later that day, he made a full confession.
In November 2007, Whiddon was also arrested after robbing a bank in Augusta, Georgia, of just over $4,100
According to police, Whiddon walked away with an adult specimen valued at $239. A $239 Barnett Expedition Crossbow from Walmart is seen here
Whiddon later told the judge in 2008 that he had struggled with drug addiction for years and that he had robbed the bank to pay back drug dealers to whom he owed money.
For the robbery he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, followed by three years of conditional release.
In a court filing, Whiddon previously told the judge that he was divorced and had two children of his own.
He also said he was an accountant at a plastics store in New York City.