Crime & Safety
Cops: Manhunt For Juice Thief Ends In Arrest
The woman also tried to steal a pack of cigarettes, police said; pit bulls prevented her initial apprehension.
A manhunt for a woman accused of stealing a bottle of juice ended this week when police said they found the suspect.
According to Southampton Town police, on Monday at 11:15 a.m., the Riverhead woman, 25, was arrested on an active arrest warrant and charged with petit larceny, a misdemeanor, resisting arrest, a misdemeanor; and obstructing governmental administration, a misdemeanor.
These charges, police said, stem from an incident which occurred at the Shamrock Gas Station, in Riverside, on Oct. 28, 2013, where the woman was caught shoplifting a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of juice.
According to police, they received a 911 call from the owner of the Shamrock Gas Station on Flanders Road at around 10:30 a.m., stating that a woman had entered his store and attempted to buy a pack of Newport cigarettes and a 32 oz. bottle of cranberry juice. When her card was declined, the woman took the items over to the nearby ATM machine, but suddenly attempted to leave the store without paying for the items, which totaled around $14, police said.
The store owner was able to grab the woman’s handbag containing the cranberry juice, and she dropped the cigarettes on the ground, which the owner scooped up before heading inside to call police. That’s when he said the woman re-entered the store, went behind the counter and grabbed her purse, still containing the juice.
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Again, the owner tried to pursue the woman, but she ran north on Flanders Road toward the Peconic View Trailer Park, police said. When police caught up to her she was inside one of the trailer homes and came out as commanded.
While police began questioning her, they said the woman began to walk back toward the trailer ignoring orders to stop. As police moved in to arrest her, two pit bull terriers emerged from the trailer home and prevented police from taking her into custody. The woman struggled with police and broke free, running off in an unknown direction down Flanders Road.
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The woman was held for morning arraignment.
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