The former manager of the Kangaroo Gas Station at 350 Voters Road in Slidell has been arrested for theft after falsely reporting that the store’s night deposit was stolen from her vehicle.

Bertha S. Cloud, 43 of 33531 Sylve Road, Slidell, has been charged with theft over $500 and filing a false police report.

Cloud first called the Slidell police on June 12 and reported that the store’s night deposit had been stolen from her vehicle while it was parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot on Natchez Drive. Cloud told police she had planned to make the deposit that morning as soon as the bank opened around 9 a.m. Instead, she kept the money in her vehicle for most of the day and did not discover the money missing until approximately 1 p.m. Officers were able to view the surveillance video of the Wal-Mart parking lot and could clearly see Cloud park her vehicle and enter the store. About half an hour later Cloud is seen exiting the store and going to her vehicle. At no time does the video show anyone approaching her vehicle.

Investigators were able to determine that Cloud arrived at Northshore Hospital just after 10 a.m. that same morning, and left at 11 a.m., reportedly heading to Wal-Mart on Natchez Drive.

However, Cloud did not reach Wal-Mart until over an hour after leaving the hospital, although the drive between the two locations is less then one mile.

Police said that Cloud was unable to account for her time during the hour between leaving the hospital and arriving at Wal-Mart. She also could not explain how the money was removed from her vehicle, since she was the only one with a key and the vehicle was never unlocked when left unattended.

Detectives said that they had other undisclosed evidence that led them to believe that Cloud took the money, the amount of which was not revealed by police.