Walmart Bleach Fight Sends 19 to Hospital

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on October 12, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Police have arrested Theresa Jefferson, 33, in connection with a Walmart bleach fight over the weekend.

Jefferson reportedly targeted her intended victim, and followed her into a Baltimore-area Walmart. Once inside, she attacked the woman with bleach, Pine-Sol and ammonia.

The chemicals mixed, creating a toxic gas. Hazmat crews were called, and nineteen people were sent to the hospital for eye and respiratory injuries.

It appears as though the Walmart bleach fight was part of an ongoing dispute between the two women. The unnamed victim is dating Jefferson's baby daddy, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Soon after the incident, Jefferson turned herself in, reports ABC News. She is currently being held on $350,000 bail and has been charged with assault, malicious destruction of property, and theft.

The theft charge may seem a bit odd, but when you consider the crime's definition, it makes significantly more sense.

Theft is commonly defined as the unlawful taking of property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of its use or value. If you obtain property (cleaning supplies) without the owner's consent, and then destroy it (pour it out), you are unlawfully depriving him of its value.

Maryland law also makes it illegal to obtain property if the person "willfully or knowingly uses the property in a manner that deprives the owner of the property."

When Theresa Jefferson started the Walmart bleach fight, she knowingly used the cleaning supplies in a way that deprived the store of its value. Walmart certainly can't re-package bleach and Pine-Sol that have been on the floor.

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