A suspect has been tracked won after investigators identified her as the getaway driver in a brazen retail theft at the Kohl’s department store in Lady Lake.
Amber Marie Bell, 39, of Leesburg, was caught up in the investigation after Lady Lake police began looking into a May 6 “cart pushout” at the store located at Lady Lake Crossing. According to an incident report, two other women entered the store, filled two shopping carts with miscellaneous merchandise, and exited without paying.
Surveillance footage captured the pair loading the stolen goods—estimated at $700 in value—into a white GMC Yukon parked at the curb. Investigators identified the driver of that SUV as Bell.
Detectives were able to track the vehicle back to Bell after discovering it had been involved in a similar retail theft in Clermont. A Lady Lake police officer also recognized the SUV from a previous traffic stop, noting a distinct dent on the lower passenger-side door that matched the vehicle seen in the Kohl’s surveillance footage.
When interviewed by police on June 18, Bell admitted to picking up her two cousins from the store, but claimed she was initially unaware of their plan to steal merchandise. She told officers that when she returned to the store to pick them up, the pair threw the stolen items into her vehicle in a “rushed manner.” Bell admitted that she eventually realized they had stolen the goods, but instead of notifying law enforcement, she drove them and the stolen merchandise to a residence in the Fruitland Park area.
Bell, who was arrested in March in connection with a theft at the Walmart in Leesburg, was issued a notice to appear in Lake County Court on July 8 on a charge of petit theft (second offense).