On January 29, 2019, at approximately 1:50 p.m., a woman was seen with a child panhandling outside the entrance of Walmart near Prime Shine.
Between 1:50 PM to 2:21 PM, Merced Daily observed 21 different vehicles stopped and gave her money. One person did give her some type of bag, but she was seen throwing it into the bushes behind her soon after.
Two different pedestrians were also seen walking by and giving her money/change as well.
We also observed a local transient using hand gestures implying NO,NO while saying don’t give her money. It’s unknown if she knew the woman or not.
We observed a total of 23 different people giving her money/change within 31 minutes.
She possibly made more money in 31 minutes, then any employee in retail, fast food in the area does in 1 hour.
Its unknown exactly how long the woman was there and how much money she actually made.
Please Note: There are many services in Merced County that provide assistance to those in need.
