Updated Press Release: Suspect charged with theft of 25 air conditioning units from Walmart

Evelyn Elizabeth Gausepohl

The following press release has been issued by Murphy Police Department.  All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Press Release from Murphy Police Department for the arrest of Evelyn Elizabeth Gausepohl 

On June 7th 2017, the Murphy Police Department responded to Wal-Mart in Murphy NC for a larceny call. Officers spoke with Wal-Mart employees, and took a police report on a larceny of several air conditioning units from the store. Wal-Mart employees provided Officers with still photographs of the larceny and the suspect. Officers also noticed in the photographs that the female subject had a small child with her during the larceny. Officers also were able to determine that the larcenies took place over a several day time period, the suspect would place several air conditioning units in a shopping cart and push them out, without paying for them past the last point of sale and place them in her vehicle. Officers learned of total (25) air conditioning units stolen over several day period from Wal-Mart in Murphy NC by the suspect.

Officers with the Murphy Police Department were notified by the same Wal-Mart employee that reported the larceny of the air conditioning units from Wal-Mart the previous day, that the female subject that had stolen the air conditioning units was selling them on Facebook.

Officers were able to identify the female subject as Evelyn Elizabeth Gausepohl. Based on the information gathered, Murphy Police Department Officers applied for and was granted a search warrant for the residence of Evelyn Elizabeth Gausepohl.

Officers with the Murphy Police Department along with Deputies with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office executed the search warrant of Evelyn Elizabeth Gausepohl's residence. During the search warrant, officers seized controlled substance, drug paraphernalia, and stolen property. Gausepohl was arrested and transported to the Cherokee County Detention Center, where she was charged with larceny of items from Wal-Mart in Murphy. Since the arrest, Officers have been able to account for all (25) air conditioning units stolen from Wal-Mart and sold. Evelyn Elizabeth Gausepohl has also been charged with 3 counts of obtaining property by false pretences for selling the air conditioning units as if hers, 2 counts of misdemeanor child abuse. Evelyn Elizabeth Gauspohl was booked into the Cherokee County Detention Center where she was given a $5000.00 unsecure bond by a Cherokee County Magistrate.

"I would like to take the time to thank all the law enforcement officers and the public for the assistance in this case."  -Dustin D. Smith, Assistant Chief of Police , Murphy Police Department