Serial Thief Arrested Again for Stealing from Walmart in Secaucus

Prior Arrest

Around 7:12 PM on October 14, 2024, officers with the Secaucus Police Department were dispatched a shoplifting at the Walmart located at 400 Park Plaza Drive. The store officials reported that a male and female were seen together before the female allegedly left the store with stolen merchandise. Around 7:21 PM, officers located a female matching this description and they detained her as they conducted their investigation. The woman was identified as Valerie Demoleas.

Valerie female denied shoplifting and claimed that her boyfriend left her before she exited the store, but there seemed to be inconsistencies in what she was saying. A search of her person revealed that she was in possession of other individuals’ credit cards as well as other prohibited items. After the officers completed their investigation, they determined that her and her boyfriend arrived in a U-Haul truck. Valerie was placed under arrest while the U-Haul was towed to police headquarters.

Valerie was transported to the Secaucus Police Department for further processing. It was revealed that she had outstanding warrants out of Piscataway and Teaneck. She was charged with shoplifting (2C:20-11B(1)), receiving stolen property (2C:20-7A), 3 counts of possession (2C:35-10A(1)), and another count of possession (2C:36-2A). After the officers processed her, she was issued her complaint warrant and transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.

Court records indicate that Valerie had previously been arrested for shoplifting at The Home Depot in Union Township, NJ on September 9, 2024. Valerie has also previously been charged with theft in Jersey City on July 28, 2024, receiving stolen property in Milltown on December 19, 2023, receiving stolen property in Jersey City on April 26, 2023, and burglary in Bergenfield on April 13, 2023.

The officers called for a K-9, and an officer with the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit responded. The K-9 indicated that there may be prohibited substances inside the U-Haul truck. Officers subsequently obtained a warrant to search the U-Haul truck. A search of the U-Haul truck revealed the presence of prohibited items.

----------------------------------------------

Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and consider supporting this channel (email us for more information). Our content is shared for educational and news gathering purposes. We are in compliance with YouTube's Fair Use Policy because we edit several long clips into a concise story. This is similar to other law enforcement channels on YouTube. All videos and case documents were obtained pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (P.L. 2024, c.16). Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has previously affirmed in Salzano v. North Jersey Media Group, 993 A.2d 778 (2010) that “The fair-report privilege reflects the judgment that the need, in a self-governing society, for free-flowing information about matters of public interest outweighs concerns over the uncompensated injury to a person's reputation.” This video advances a compelling public interest. The summary of events was based on records that are “open to public view through open access to public records” as defined in the Salzano case. In Ramos v. Flowers, 429 N.J. Super. 13, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court has also affirmed the right to film law enforcement interactions.