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Local hurricane evacuee pleads guilty to theft

By Brad Kellar

Commerce – A guilty plea has been heard in a local theft case involving a hurricane evacuee. Irene Olufolake Wellington, of Port Arthur, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of felony theft during a court hearing and placed on three years of deferred adjudication probation. Wellington was one of two people arrested by the Commerce Police Department on Sept. 14, after they were discovered tearing off tags from items of merchandise at Wal-Mart and stuffing them into her purse. Wellington was staying at a shelter in Commerce the week of the incident as an evacuee of Hurricane Ike.

Click the MP3 icon to listen as KETR's Greenville Correspondent Brad Kellar reports.