NILES COP GUILTY OF SHOPLIFTING GROCERIES

NILES – Berrien County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Trent Babcock is on administrative leave after being charged with shoplifting from the Niles Wal-Mart in early February.

Babcock, 41, of Walling Lane in Niles, is an 18-year veteran of the department and is assigned to the Niles Township substation. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of third-degree retail fraud Friday in Berrien County Trial Court and was sentenced to pay $435 in fines and costs.

Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey said Monday that he placed Babcock on paid administrative leave as soon as he found out about the incident in early February. He said Babcock will remain on administrative leave until an internal investigation is completed.

The internal investigation did not start until Babcock’s plea and sentence in the criminal matter Friday. Bailey said he expects the internal investigation to be completed within a week at which time he make his decision.

The police report of the incident indicates that a Wal-Mart store video from Feb. 7 showed Babcock loading up a shopping cart with groceries. He placed some of the groceries in a blue plastic tote and other groceries in two black bags, all while still in the store.

Babcock is then observed exiting through a closed checkout lane and leaving the store without paying for the items. He was confronted by a Wal-Mart asset protection manager the next day and admitted to taking the items without paying for them.

The value of the groceries taken was put at $184. Of that amount, Babcock returned $172 worth of groceries on Feb. 8, turning the items over to Det./Lt. Greg Sanders of the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department.

Bailey said the investigation of the criminal case was done by an Allegan County Sheriff’s Department detective at his request.

Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic said his office handled the case and did not send out the case to another county as it has done in other instances because there was no conflict of interest found. “A case being awkward is not a conflict,” he said.