Three persons will be in court to answer charges of attempted theft at two different Ceres stores.

A Walmart store loss prevention officer spotted Cheryl French, 42, of Modesto, changing the price tag of a purse worth $18.97 inside the store, paying for it under a different price and walking out of the store. Police were called at 11:37 a.m. on Jan. 8 and cited her for the misdemeanor.

In the second incident, Stephen Harris, 40, of Modesto, was seen inside the Costless Foods store at 7:52 p.m. on Jan. 9 concealing a bottle of Tequila in his waistband before leaving the store. Harris told police that he was hungry and was going to sell the liquor to buy food. He was cited for theft.

The third case occurred at 6:06 p.m. on Jan. 10 at Walmart.

Ceres Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jose Berber said that Christopher Turner, 25, of Ceres, walked into the store with a cart, placed a vacuum cleaner into it and wheeled it over to the customer service desk and produced a receipt in an attempt to try to "return" it for cash refund. Turner was apprehended and found to be in possession of methamphetamine and a glass pipe. He was booked for theft and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.