PORT ST. LUCIE – A 76-year-old woman was jailed on Aug. 4 after she allegedly tried to purchase items at Target in Tradition for prices lower than the barcode stickers, according to Port St. Lucie Police Facebook posting.
On Aug. 4, officers responded to the Target store in the 10000 block of Southwest Village Parkway, Port St. Lucie after loss prevention employees stopped Joan M. McKeon for trying to buy items less than the posted amount using fraudulent barcodes, according to the Facebook posting.
Loss prevention staff told officers that McKeon would come into the store, carrying her own barcode stickers for lower-priced merchandise. After selecting the items she wanted, she would head to the self-checkout and scan the barcode stickers she brought with her instead of the actual barcodes attached to the merchandise, according to the Facebook posting. One item, retailing at $32.99, became a $1.29 purchase with one of the barcodes McKeon scanned, according to the Facebook posting.
When officers searched her purse, they discovered 28 barcode stickers, many labeled with the names from other retailers, including TJ Maxx, Publix, and Burlington, prompting additional follow-up with those businesses, according to the Facebook posting.
Investigators documented 12 separate thefts at the same Target dating back to September 2025, all using the same barcode-swapping method, according to the Facebook posting.
McKeon was arrested on charges related to an ongoing scheme to defraud and transported to the St. Lucie County Jail.
She was in the jail as of Aug. 6 on a $2,500 bond, according to jail records.