P*ssed-off shoplifter hits us with her car!

[earl colby pottinger]

Popcorn for eveyone

Oh hey, guess what!? That idiot woman was here AGAIN on thursday! Coworker recognized the car, saw her go into store X (which has it's own entrance separate from the mall), and called the police - this is because she and her accomplice have now been sent certified ban letters via mail. The police arrived just as she returned to her car and charged her with defiant trespass. She tried to argue that store X wasn't part of the mall! Um, we know our property, and store X is the FIRST ONE listed on the huge mall sign advertising what stores we have! Heehee, she just keeps racking up the points!

Please keep posting about this woman when she goes to court!

This is going to get good with the additional trespassing charges,

[LillFilly]

To her credit, she never used the child to steal or blamed the child for it; she probably wasn't smart enough to think of it!

[Argabarga]

There is a certain subclass of people that, whenever they are punished in any way, can't resist the urge to immediately REPEAT the offensive behavior in question in the hopes they can "get away with it" this time and therefore show Da Man (tm) who is really boss around here! You don't have power over me! If you did, you'd be able to stop me from going back and doing it again!!!

Wait, you DID stop me the second time? You can't do that! When I get out, I'll do it a THIRD time and that'll show you!

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Wait, you DID stop me the second time? You can't do that! When I get out, I'll do it a THIRD time and that'll show you!

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I think you hit the nail on the head . . . there are some folks who just will NOT get it and never will.

OTOH, they do provide for hours of amusement.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I think you hit the nail on the head . . . there are some folks who just will NOT get it and never will.

It's probably too many hits from the Clue By Four causing brain damage...

[DGoddessChardonnay]

It's probably too many hits from the Clue By Four causing brain damage...

Only if there's a brain in there to damage.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Only if there's a brain in there to damage.

Hey, I was trying to give them SOME credit. Just not any they can use to buy stuff.

[EricKei]

As people have already mentioned, there's a few reasons why shoplifters might have children accompanying them:

I would add these to that list:

- It's easier to get away if you have a screaming baby to attend to (especially if you loudly blame the store for their crying)

- Baby buggies and diaper bags have plenty of places to hide items built-in to them, including under the baby's blanket.

As for "people with kids are less likely to steal" -- Well, this is personal experience only, but after Katrina, we (and fortunately, the police) witnessed people at disaster relief locations going thru a line (in their car) with baby in tow, getting water and (especially) diapers, moving to the far side of the parking lot, and passing said baby to another car until the set of cars had seriously stocked up (they would only give you diapers if you had a baby in the car). While I will grant that it is certainly possible that most or all of the diapers were meant for that kid/family, it should be noted that diapers (and water, to a lesser extent) were being sold on the black market for 5-10x the normal prices at the time...

[Ironclad Alibi]

There is a certain subclass of people that, whenever they are punished in any way, can't resist the urge to immediately REPEAT the offensive behavior in question in the hopes they can "get away with it" this time and therefore show Da Man (tm) who is really boss around here! You don't have power over me! If you did, you'd be able to stop me from going back and doing it again!!!

Wait, you DID stop me the second time? You can't do that! When I get out, I'll do it a THIRD time and that'll show you!

So what is the top number for tows of those people? If you've bothered to keep count.

[depechemodefan]

and passing said baby to another car until the set of cars had seriously stocked up

That reminds me of a scam in the kids room of the library. HOmeless people would pass around a baby so different people would get a chance to use a computer in the kids room (since the wait for a computer is less then in the adult area).

[PepperElf]

Because she had to spend a few days in jail due to not being able to post bail, whereas the first woman got herself out that night!

Me not so much. Sometimes our life choices have consequences.

And now she knows that shopping next to a shoplifter, even if she didn't have any of the stolen goods herself, can still get you arrested. Besides, sometimes the "non-thief" in the party is the lookout, which means they're an accomplice.

And now she knows the calibre of the people she chose to shop with. It's a hard lesson sure, but hard lessons are the ones you remember better.

It may be the belief (actually myth) that only people without children steal.

I don't believe that myth myself. Partially because of this site, and partially because there are some parents who want to teach their kids how to "get ahead" by any means they can, and some who steal simply *because* they have a kid - or rather because kids aren't cheap.

[Shalom]

Since a lot of countries do not prosecute children under the age of 10 (from memory), shoplifting parents may either a) steal and pass the blame onto the kid or b) actually have the kid shoplift themselves.

Seen this happen at the Aide of Right, back around 2001. Mom walking around with a baby carriage and another little kid with a knapsack on. Now this store was the shrink capitol of the Bronx, so they'd installed a multi-cam system and an LP guy to work it. Said LP guy noticed that the kid's knapsack suddenly had gotten so heavy that she was tipping over backwards.

He confronted them, and found four 1-quart cans of Enfamil liquid concentrate. Probably weighed as much as the poor kid herself. I can't remember if she was trying to argue that the kid had taken the formula by herself. No idea what they found in the stroller, if anything: I'd like to see her blame the baby for that as well.

[MadMike]

And now she knows that shopping next to a shoplifter, even if she didn't have any of the stolen goods herself, can still get you arrested.

One of my wife's sisters got in trouble that way as a teenager. She was out with a friend who was shoplifting, although she wasn't in on it herself. When her friend got caught, the cops took them both away. My wife's mother was pissed, not at the store or the cops, but at her daughter for hanging out with someone like that.