Theft of lottery tickets leads to arrest at Stripes

A San Marcos woman was arrested last week after allegedly claiming more than $1,400 in lottery winnings fraudulently. 

According to the probable cause affidavit for her arrest, Zazja Iman Henderson, age 21, confessed to stealing lottery tickets from the Stripes store where she worked on North Interstate Highway 35. The store manager told a San Marcos police officer that Henderson had been stealing lottery tickets and claiming the prizes from the tickets where applicable. Initial estimates were that Henderson had stolen $280 worth of tickets, but the Texas Lottery Commission later determined that $1,785 worth of tickets had been stolen, the affidavit states. The commission also found that Henderson had made $1,405 in fraudulent claims on the lottery tickets. Surveillance video from the store showed Henderson taking the tickets, according to the affidavit, and she had been fired due to the incident.

When interviewed, Henderson confessed to stealing the tickets. She was booked into the Hays County Jail on April 3 on a $7,000 surety bond for the lottery fraud charge and a $5,000 personal recognizance bond on a charge of theft of property. 

According to state law, claiming a lottery prize or share of a lottery prize by means of fraud, deceit or misrepresentation is a Class A misdemeanor, unless the amount claimed is more than $200 but less than $10,000, in which case the offense is a second-degree felony.