By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A Maylene woman and her husband were arrested on felony charges on Feb. 25 after police said the couple allegedly stole prescription drugs from the Alabaster Walmart over an extended period of time.

Police arrested 21-year-old Stephanie Lynn Adrey and her husband, 26-year-old Jason Murdoch Stokes, and charged them with multiple felonies.

Adrey was charged with three counts of second-degree theft of property and Stokes was charged with one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Each charge is a Class C felony, and convictions could carry up to 10 years in prison, according to Alabama law.

Alabaster Police Chief Curtis Rigney said the arrests came after Walmart management contacted the police department to report suspicious activity in the store’s pharmacy. After investigating the case, officers said Adrey, a Walmart pharmacy employee, allegedly was stealing medication as she was filling prescriptions.

Stokes also was allegedly involved in the scheme, and was in possession of controlled substances when he and Adrey were arrested at the store, Rigney said.

As of March 5, Adrey had been released from the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $15,000 and Stokes had been released from jail on a $10,000 bond.