She said stealing from Choice 'was easy.' Now she is charged with three felonies

A former Choice Cigarette Discount Outlet employee admitted to stealing $6,716.61 from the store and gave cartons of cigarettes to those who she was indebted to, according to State College police.

Store owners told police Elssye Holroyd, 35, was stealing from the store for five months and began in July 2017.

She had been ringing up sales on the cash register before using the "No Sale" button to open the drawer and deposit the cash without registering a transaction. She would then use the "Safe Drop" button to open the drawer and take the cash from the register before placing it in her purse off camera, according to police.

Holroyd told an officer she did so because she needed money and stealing from the store "was easy."

Holroyd is charged with one felony count of retail theft, one felony count of theft by unlawful taking and one felony count of receiving stolen property.

She was arraigned before District Judge Casey McClain, who set bail at $5,000 unsecured.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 20.

This story was originally published June 12, 2018 at 4:08 PM with the headline "She said stealing from Choice 'was easy.' Now she is charged with three felonies."