Cassimore signed the agreement banning her from Walmart properties after she was arrested in the Roxbury incident
MORRISTOWN -- A woman who was banned from Walmart for life lost her appeal on Thursday of the shoplifting conviction that led to the ban.
Johanna Cassimore, 64, of Hopatcong, was found guilty by Judge Ira Cohen in Roxbury Municipal Court of shoplifting from the Ledgewood Mall Walmart on June 13, 2014.
After she was arrested leaving the store with a shopping bag containing nearly $100 worth of dog food, vitamins and jewelry for which she hadn't paid, she signed an agreement with Walmart officials not to again enter any Walmart property.
However, some confusion over that agreement arose after she was again convicted of shoplifting, following the ban, from the Walmart store in Mount Olive on Dec. 6, 2014, when she tried to smuggle $78 worth of vitamins.
In imposing his sentence, Mount Olive Municipal Court Judge Brian Levine barred Cassimore from all Walmarts, but later vacated the order, saying that should not have been part of the court order.
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The ban agreement Cassimore had already signed with Walmart officials at the Ledgewood Walmart in Roxbury, however, remained in effect.
On Thursday, Cassimore pressed her appeal of the Roxbury Municipal Court conviction before Superior Court Judge William McGovern in Morristown.
In his ruling, McGovern affirmed Judge Cohen's guilty finding and said the penalty against Cassimore -- a total of $1,108 in fines -- will stand.
McGovern cited the testimony of Ashley Campo, a loss prevention specialist at the Ledgewood Walmart, who said she had seen Cassimore take vitamins from one bottle and pour them into another bottle, and also hid dog treats and jewelry in a plastic Walmart bag during her 90 minutes moving around the Walmart on her motorized scooter.
Campo said Cassimore paid for some items, but not all, and was unable to produce the proper receipts after she left the store, McGovern said.
"She had no explanation for items not paid for when she left the store," McGovern said.
The judge pointed out this was "not an isolated instance," because Campo had seen Cassimore "doing this with vitamins and dog treats" on other occasions but didn't have enough evidence to prosecute her.
Cassimore testified that she had brought items into the store that she had purchased at other Walmart stores in the hope of exchanging them for the same items if they had lower prices at the Ledgewood store.
Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Paula Jordao pointed out that in addition to failing to produce receipts, Cassimore "falsely identified herself" when confronted by store officials.
Cassimore's new, court-appointed attorney, Taleen Aiazian, based her appeal mainly on the fact that Campo, in her testimony, relied on her written report of the incident.
The report was never admitted into evidence as an official exhibit, and was "inadmissible" and "improper," Alazian said.
Three days passed after the incident before Campo wrote the report, so "it was not fresh in her memory," Alazian added.
Alazian also said a store surveillance video was mostly "blurry" and inconclusive.
However, in the eight-minute portion that was the clearest, Cassimore could be seen "rummaging" with items on the vitamin and pet food aisles, but not shoplifting.
"Rummaging is not concealing," Alazian said, adding that the "inability to corroborate" Campo's testimony was "problematic." Campo was the only prosecution witness.
Judge McGovern agreed that the video didn't contain much useful evidence, and acknowledged that the conditions under which Cassimore testified in the Roxbury Municipal Court were "not idyllic."
However, he cited Judge Cohen's conclusion that Campo's testimoy was "credible" and Cassimore's was "incredible."
The judge declined Alazian's request to lower the fines set by Cohen.
Alazian said Social Security is the only source of income for Cassimore, who has a disability that requires her to use a cane and the scooter.
Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
