Coupon Rejected, Walmart Shopper Pulled Out Gun

MARCH 4--Angered that a Walmart employee refused to honor a “dollar-off” coupon, a Florida woman allegedly retrieved a handgun from her car and waved the weapon at several store employees, police allege.

The confrontation at the Crawfordville store began Friday afternoon when Mary Frances Alday, 61, sought to use an Internet coupon. Alday became “extremely upset” when a Walmart assistant manager, Tracy Stockslager, told her of the retailer’s policy not to accept such online coupons, according to a Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office report.

After having her coupon bid rejected, Alday allegedly called Stockslager “a bitch and other foul names” and intentionally struck the worker with a shopping cart. As Alday was escorted out of the store, she reportedly warned Stockslager, 48, not to follow her. The Walmart worker replied that “she was going to get her vehicle license plate number.”

“If you follow me, I have something in my car for you,” Alday warned.

As several Walmart employees watched from the store’s entrance, Alday appeared outside her car “waving the gun in the holster,” reported investigators. Alday then removed the weapon--a loaded Smith & Wesson .38 Special--from the holster and pointed it “at all the store employees and stated ‘I have something for Y’all.’” The Walmart workers “retreated back inside the building due to being in fear for their lives.”

Alday, who fled the Walmart parking lot in a 2011 Ford Escape, was subsequently pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy who asked if there was a firearm in the SUV. “Yes, I have a concealed weapons permit, and you are not taking my gun.” Asked about the gun’s location, Alday replied, “You’re not taking my gun.”

Alday twice refused the deputy’s request to exit the auto, and was tasered when she “reached over the console for something in the passenger seat.” Alday was then dragged from the car and handcuffed. The gun was found in the vehicle’s center console.

Seen in the above mug shot, Alday was charged with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of battery. She was booked into the county jail, where she remains in custody in advance of an initial court appearance.

Sheriff’s reports do not indicate the Walmart item for which Alday was seeking to save a dollar. (4 pages)