Dec. 30—RED WING, Minn. — The Red Wing school board member accused of shoplifting more than $500 worth of merchandise from Target was sentenced to one year of probation.
Rachel Marie Marshall Schoenfelder, 49, was charged with theft after she was caught shoplifting. She pleaded guilty in court on December 19 to a lesser charge of theft.
According to the ruling, Schoenfelder was granted a deferred sentence, meaning the charges will be dismissed if she meets the sentencing conditions.
As part of the terms, Goodhue County District Judge Patrick Biren asked her to pay $564.04 in restitution that day. He also ordered Schoenfelder to perform 24 hours of community service by June 19, 2025.
Schoenfelder stepped down from her position as treasurer at a meeting on October 21. At a meeting in November, the board censured Schoenfelder by temporarily removing her from committee assignments pending the outcome of the case.
A resolution was passed to censure Schönfelder after school board members spoke for and against the censure. The resolution passed 5-2, with Schoenfelder and board member Pam Roe opposing the censure. Roe was nominated as interim treasurer on October 21.
Bryant did not immediately respond for comment on whether Schoenfelder still serves on the school board. Schoenfelder is still listed as a board member on the school’s website.
Summary of the criminal complaint:
According to the criminal complaint, Red Wing police were dispatched to Target in July after an asset protection investigator said there was “a known shoplifter currently in the store.”
The investigator approached Schoenfelder and took her to the asset protection office before police arrived, the complaint said. According to the complaint, Schoenfelder admitted to shoplifting on July 18 and at other times earlier this year.
“Schoenfelder stated that she knew it was wrong, but did it because things were getting more expensive,” the complaint said.
The complaint alleges that Schoenfelder was seen on surveillance video placing a 10-pack of Mini Diet Coke into a cart. She then placed other items, totaling $158.72, into a reusable Target bag. The items included three books, a pair of shoes, games, chocolate pieces and a bar of white chocolate.
The surveillance video of the self-checkout showed that she paid for some items in her shopping cart, but not for the items placed in the reusable bag. The stolen merchandise was recovered by the investigator and returned to Target, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, Schoenfelder admitted to purposefully placing merchandise in the reusable bag and not paying for it. She was given a ticket for trespassing.
The investigator said Target wanted to file charges for seven other shoplifting incidents from March to July. The total amount of stolen property is $504.76.
