An Elkmont woman wanted on theft charges hid in the attic of a local business to avoid arrest, records show.

Limestone County sheriff’s investigators received a report of a stolen vehicle at Southern Diesel Repair in Elkmont. As they arrived Tuesday, 22-year-old Dezerae Lynn Schall of 26469 Fain Road stepped out of the front door of the business.

“Upon seeing investigators, she quickly reentered the business and the front door to the business was locked,” according to a statement from Investigator Caleb Durden. “For about 10 to 15 minutes investigators knocked on the door attempting to make contact, knowing that Schall held felony warrants.”

Sean Benjamin Walts, 33, also of 26469 Fain Road, came to the door instead. When asked where Schall was, Walts “continued to harbor and conceal Schall, who investigators learned was his girlfriend.”

Investigators arrested Walts on one count of first-degree hindering prosecution and one count of negotiating a nonnegotiable worthless instrument. They found Schall hiding in the attic of the shop and arrested her on a grand jury indictment for first-degree theft.

A woman sitting in a vehicle by the front door of the business was also arrested after it was discovered she was pregnant and had been using cocaine and methamphetamine. The woman was identified as 31-year-old Tamara Lyn Sisseck of 517 Lake Drive, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.

Sisseck was arrested and is charged with possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and chemical endangerment of a child.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible. As of Wednesday, Sisseck was the only one who remained in the Limestone County Jail. Her bail is set at $102,500.