Woman charged for allegedly using fake coupons

PERKINS TWP. — A woman received two charges after she allegedly used fake coupons at a Perkins Township store on Sunday.Shameka Owens, 38, of Sycamore Line, was charged with theft by deception and criminal simulation. Both charges are misdemeanors.Owens called police at about 5:30 p.m. after she said an employee from the store followed her to her car and took a picture of her vehicle, according to a Perkins police report. Owens returned to the store to make a complaint, and a manager accused her of using fraudulent coupons.Police arrived at the store and spoke to the manager, who said their store was investigating after Owens also allegedly used fake coupons a week prior, the report states. Officers looked at the coupons — which were three $1 coupons for makeup and one $10 coupon for "your next shopping order — and noted that the coupons' appearance "did not appear to be correct."The manager said the company's fraud coordinator sent an email earlier this month with photographs of fraudulent coupons, the report states. Police said Owens possessed a coupon pictured in the email and said it had the exact same barcode number.Owens said she got the coupons from one of the company's stores in the Columbus area, according to the report.Police gave Owens a summons for her charges and also banned her from the store at the manager's request.Visit our Perkins police hub for more storiesReach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegister