An 18-year-old woman from Wabasha is facing criminal charges after a Bloomington police officer working overtime at a Walmart found a loaded, unholstered Glock 23 handgun tucked in her waistband during a theft stop in July. Nadia Shirlene Smith now faces charges of carrying a pistol without a permit in a public place and theft of movable property without consent, according to court records.
The incident unfolded around 11:18 a.m. on July 24, when a loss prevention specialist alerted the officer to suspected under-ringing at a self-checkout register, according to MN Crime. The officer and the loss prevention specialist stopped Smith as she exited the store, and she was detained and handcuffed without incident. Court records indicate Smith had passed all points of sale without paying for all of her items, and the recovered merchandise was later returned to the store.
Officer Spots Magazine Sticking Out of Waistband
During a search after Smith had been detained, the officer reportedly saw a handgun magazine sticking out from her front waistband. He then retrieved a Glock 23 handgun that was not in a holster and had a loaded extended magazine inserted. The officer ejected the magazine, racked the slide, and a round ejected from the chamber before the gun and ammunition were inventoried as evidence.
Smith was identified by her Minnesota ID card, and the firearm was not reported stolen at the time of recovery, according to the same account. She had no permit to carry a firearm and, per the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, state law sets 21 as the minimum age to obtain a carry permit, with sheriffs instructed not to issue permits to 18-to-20-year-olds while related legal challenges played out in federal court. At age 18, Smith could not obtain a Minnesota permit to carry a pistol, but the statute includes an exception for peace officers, so the evidence does not establish that she was barred from carrying a pistol under every possible circumstance.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under Minnesota Statute § 624.714 Subdivision 1a, carrying a pistol in public without a valid permit is a gross misdemeanor for a first offense, according to FindLaw. Theft penalties, meanwhile, scale with the dollar value taken under the state’s general theft statute, § 609.52: theft of property worth more than $500 is a gross misdemeanor, and theft exceeding $1,000 becomes a five-year felony. The exact value of the merchandise Smith allegedly under-rang has not been detailed in court records reviewed so far…