A woman was arrested after allegedly stealing three packs of diapers from a Target store in The Villages.
An officer responded to a shoplifting complaint at the Target at Rolling Acres Plaza around 5:55 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. The complainant advised that the suspects, including 36-year-old Ashley Paige Allen of Orlando, had already left with three boxes of stolen diapers.
The asset protection leader advised that he saw three people enter the store. They had recently stolen from the Lady Lake and Casselberry locations. So, he watched as the trio walked throughout the store, putting items into the shopping cart, the report said.
When they all stopped at the self-checkout, one of the group distracted an employee while Allen scanned some of the cheaper items in the cart. She did not scan three 100-count boxes of Pampers diapers worth a total of $140.226. Another of the group stayed with the cart while the items were being scanned, the report said.
The one pushing the cart left the store before the diapers were paid for. Allen remained at the register, although she incorrectly scanned the three other items in the shopping cart. She had one smaller box of diapers in the shopping cart but scanned it twice. She had two packs of cheaper baby wipes and scanned only one of them, the report said.
Reviewing surveillance footage, the officer saw Allen scan the lower-priced items with the scan gun. She pretended to scan the barcode on the Pampers diapers, yet she only paid for the cheaper items. She left in a blue four-door Hyundai, the report said.
At around 8:30 p.m., an officer with the Fruitland Park Police Department stopped the vehicle at U.S. Hwy. 27/441 and Dixie Avenue. Allen was questioned, during which she stated that she thought she had scanned the diapers and handed the officer her receipt. It showed she bought two Millie Moon packs of diapers for a total of $17.98 and one pack of Huggies wipes for $2.29, the report said.
The office explained that if she thought she scanned the diapers, when the total was so low, she should have realized items were missing. She agreed and advised that one of her companions told her not to scan the diapers. The items in the cart were for her brother, the report said.
Allen was subsequently arrested on charge of petit theft (one previous conviction). She was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $1,000 bond.