Police nabbed a suspected shoplifter Friday night at Target at Rolling Acres Plaza in The Villages.
A loss prevention officer at the store saw 35-year-old Patricia Salley Schwerdt of Fruitland Park concealing merchandise on her person and in her cart and then leaving the store without paying for the items, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. The stolen items were valued at $193.54.
Officers were called to the store at 7:43 p.m. and upon arrival discovered Schwerdt was wanted on a warrant charging her in a previous theft. While she was being detained by police, Schwerdt tried to break away to go talk to her boyfriend, who was in the parking lot.
In 2018, Schwerdt had to call a taxi after her unregistered and uninsured vehicle was towed from the scene of a traffic stop in The Villages. In 2014, she was jailed after a Christmas Day arrest on a charge of battery.
After Friday’s arrest, she was taken into custody and booked at the Lake County Jail. She was released after posting $1,500 bond.
