A 24-year-old was sentenced Monday to two years of community control after she was arrested for shoplifting while carrying a loaded handgun at the Tanger Outlet Mall

Shaaniquia L. Sheard, of Columbus, appeared in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, a felony of the fourth degree, and theft, a first-degree misdemeanor. As part of the plea and sentence agreement, Sheard plead no contest to count one, carrying a concealed weapon, and the second charge, for theft, was dismissed.

Sheard walked out of Tommy Hilfiger and tripped the security alarm July 25, according to an incident report filed by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy Adam Greenlee said he stopped Sheard and a male companion, and told Sheard that if she had stolen items, she needed to give them back and she would be asked to leave and not return, and no charges would be filed. Greenlee said Sheard removed a t-shirt from her purse and said it was the only item she had stolen.

Greenlee reported that other stolen items were found in Sheard’s purse during a search. The deputy reportedly found a handgun with several live rounds in the magazine and one live round in the chamber.

A Fayette County grand jury elevated the concealed carry charge to a felony, with specificity that there was a live round in the chamber, in the indictment on file at the Fayette County Clerk of Courts.

Sheard was ordered during sentencing to two years of community control by the Fayette County Adult Probation Office, to forfeit the handgun and ammunition to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, and to pay the costs for prosecution. The incarceration term for a violation of the sentencing order is 18 months in prison.