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Archive for April 3rd, 2008

Man charged with 149 counts of sex crimes www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Man charged with 149 counts of sex crimes www.privateofficer.com

RUSSELLVILLE, Ky. April 3 2008 — A man is accused of 149 counts of sex crimes against some children in Russellville, Ky.
The alleged incidents, which occurred over a period of 15 years, are the ones that police said they know about.
Police said 43-year-old Merlin Overholt committed the acts on children who were all under 12 years old.
Kristie Holloway said she was stunned. She said a few weeks ago, Overholt did some bricklaying work at her home. Holloway, who is not one of the Overholt’s accusers, has a 2-year-old daughter.
“It’s just scary. You know, you can’t trust anybody any more it seems like,” she said.
According to an attorney’s office, there are also reports that Overholt’s wife kept children in their home for years.
“I’m very careful. I don’t let other people watch my kids. People who have been friends for years are like, ‘Let me keep them so you can go out.’ No, I got it,” said resident Arleigh Melton.
“You really have to be careful. You have to talk to your children. Your children have to understand what’s going on; what’s right, what’s wrong,” said resident Lisa Browning.
Overholt was arrested in Russellville in January when a child was taken to the hospital and examined. He was arrested again in February. He is currently being held in the Logan County Jail on $5 million bond.
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Armored car guard arrested for impersonating law officer www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Armored car guard arrested for impersonating law enforcement www.privateofficer.com

Jacksonville Fla. April 3 2008 Jacksonville police arrested a 27-year-old armored-car worker Tuesday on charges of falsely impersonating a law enforcement officer.
On at least two occasions the man approached federal officers while working with Premium Armored Servics/Bantek and claimed to be a “fellow” federal law enforcement officer working with the Department of Defense, according to the Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
On each occasion he had presented credentials and once he said he was a member of the SWAT team.
Police subsequently learned he had been terminated from employment at Mayport Naval Station.
They also accessed his MySpace account and found pictures of him wearing a bulletproof or tactical vest marked “POLICE,” holding semi-automatic handguns with light-sighting devices, the report said.
Andrew Alexis Diaz of the 400 block of Monument Road is charged with two counts of falsely impersonating an officer.
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Man arrested for murder of casino guest www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Man arrested for murder of casino guest www.privateofficer.com

Lafayette LA. April 3 2008

Abbey Brown The (Alexandria) Town Talk

A Bunkie man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a Plaquemine woman who authorities say was abducted Saturday from the Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville, a popular day trip destination for many area residents.
Police found the body of Janaver Distefano, 65, around 7 a.m. Monday in Bunkie, hours after arresting Donald Ray Johnson, 23, and charging him with illegally using Distefano’s credit cards
Late Monday, Johnson was charged with second-degree murder in Distefano’s death, Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Maj. Harry Normand said Tuesday.
Officers with several police agencies were searching Bayou Duloc much of Tuesday, looking for a knife they think Johnson tossed off a bridge in rural Avoyelles Parish on Luke Martin Road.
Members of the Rapides and Avoyelles sheriff’s offices, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Tunica-Biloxi Tribal Police, the U.S. Marshals Service and FBI were on hand to help search the heavily littered bayou.
Divers and searchers focused on one particular side of the bridge, using powerful magnets to drag the bottom of the bayou hoping to find the knife, officers said. The search was described as “exhaustive,” but officers declined to comment on if anything had been found.
An FBI agent signed the murder warrant, FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorn said, but it is a state warrant. There have been no federal charges filed against Johnson at this point, but Thorn said the investigation continues.
The FBI has been involved in the investigation as the incident took place on the grounds of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, which owns the casino.
Distefano was last seen at the casino around 11:30 a.m. Saturday saying she was leaving to go to Wal-Mart, about half a mile from the casino, Normand said. Friends and family tried to call her cell phone several times that day, but the calls went unanswered and unreturned, he said.
On Sunday afternoon, the FBI and other police agencies were on the casino grounds investigating the incident, and the casino’s parking garage was closed temporarily.
Officers arrested Johnson around 3:30 a.m. Monday and charged him with unauthorized use of a credit card. Distefano’s credit card was used twice – once at the Marksville Wal-Mart she said she planned to go to and also at the store’s gas station.
Surveillance video from the station caught a man police identified as Johnson filling up a white sport utility vehicle. Distefano was last seen driving a maroon-colored Pontiac Grand Am, the same vehicle in which her body was found inside in front of an abandoned Bunkie home.
Normand said officers were led to Distefano’s body through their investigation after Johnson’s arrest.
The cause of Distefano’s death is still undetermined, but there appeared to be trauma to the back of her head, Normand said. An autopsy is planned.
Linda Bordelon, vice president of public relations for the casino, declined to comment about the investigation beyond saying, “We have turned over all evidence to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.”
Normand said Johnson is being held in the Avoyelles Parish Jail without bond and that charges from other agencies are being considered. Normand said he is unaware of any other suspects being sought.
Search warrants were executed on Johnson’s home, vehicle and another Bunkie residence, Normand said, and “items of interest” were found.
There is no known relationship between Johnson and Distefano, he said.

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Professional wrestler sentenced to life in prison www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Professional wrestler sentenced to life in prison

ATLANTA Ga. April 3 2008 — A former professional wrestler convicted of leading a sex trafficking ring has been sentenced to life in prison.
Forty-two-year-old Harrison “Hardbody” Norris of Cartersville was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Atlanta.
Prosecutors say Norris ran a scheme to force women into prostitution.
Norris was convicted last November of numerous charges including conspiracy, commercial sex trafficking and witness tampering.
Four other people were previously sentenced in the case, two for having roles in the scheme and two for lying to investigators.
Norris has claimed he just ran training camp for women to become professional wrestlers

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Student arrested for having homemade taser at school www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Student arrested for homemade taser at school www.privateofficer.com

CLINTON, Conn. –April 3 2008
By: Rick McCann
Ntl Assoc. Private Officers
www.privateofficer.com
A student who brought a disposbale camera to school is now facing serious criminal charges after police say he intended on using it as a weapon, a homemade taser gun.
Police said a 14-year-old student who goes to the Morgan High School student is accused of attempting to fire the device at another student. Police said the device was made entirely from a disposable camera.
Sometime during class the school resource officer was made aware of the camera and came to investigate. That’s when the officer decided that it was a little more than a prank and took the student into custody.
But the teen’s father said that the school and police are blowing the incident out of proportion.
The boy’s father, Bret Haughwout, said that his son hadn’t modified the camera in any way, that he had just opened it up.
“All he did was bring a disposable camera, take it apart, demonstrate that if you press this button you get shocked,” Haughwout said.
The student has since been charged by the school resource officer with possession of a weapon at school, breach of peace and attempted assault.

“When dealing with electricity, you can cause injury or harm. We want to stress that these aren’t toys,” said Sgt. Jeremiah Dunn of the Clinton Police Department.

Officers said no one was injured in the incident.

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Man arrested for filing dog’s teeth down www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Dog owner arrested for filing dog’s teeth down www.privateofficer.com

McMINNVILLE, Tenn April 3 2008
By: Bryan Hill
Security News Magazine/www.privateofficer.com
Authorities in this small rural community say that they have arrested a man for what they are calling one of the worse cases of animal abuse in the county and possibly in the state of Tennessee.
Police that the man is accused of filing a dog’s teeth almost to its gums.
The dog, named Lucas’ was absoultely abused by the owner, Chris Barnett, who now faces felony charges of aggravated animal cruelty. Joy Percell, who testified at the preliminary hearing Tuesday, said she witnessed the filing on Feb. 16.
She said she was working on a dairy farm where Barnett was renting a home. She said what she was sickening.
“I saw him strike the dog several times in a row and then whatever this thing was he had in his hand, he put in the dog’s mouth and then he began to run it back-and-forth through the dog’s mouth. … Its head was jerking back and forth,” she said.
During testimony, some Warren County Humane Association representatives wept.
Maxwell Vincent, who rented the dairy farm, testified to what happened after the beating.
“He picked the dog up about chest high and said, ‘See, it’s alive.’ When he picked it up, a lot of blood came out of its mouth. And then he picked it up about chest high and then he tossed it back down on the ground,” he said.
Vincent said that Barnett told him that he filed the dog’s teeth because he was chewing on some wire fencing around the home.
While the defense tried to explain Barnett’s behavior, the judge was not sympathetic.
“It was just a sadistic beating,” said General Sessions Court Judge Larry Ross. “You don’t teach a dog to not chew by beating him and then filing his teeth off.”
The case was bound over to a grand jury.
Aggravated animal abuse charges could mean a $3,000 fine and two years in prison if a conviction is reached. The allegations of abuse of Lucas the dog garnered worldwide attention.
The Warren County district attorney said the office has received hundreds of phone calls from around the country in support of Lucas. A Web site has also been set up.

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Arrests made for threats on security officer www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Arrests made in threat on securiy officer incident www.privateofficer.com

Dunn NC. April 3 2008
By: Rick McCann
Ntl Assoc. Private Officers
www.privateofficer.com

Police responded earlier in the week to the Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital to assist the security officer because he said several people had threatened to assault him.
When officers arrived the suspects had fled but the security officer said that he felt great bodily harm would have come to him had he not gone into a hospital building and secured the door.
The four male suspects were faired to have been local gang members and could have been armed the security officer said.
Police investigated the threats further and were able to make arrests in this matter.

Four people have now been charged in this incident.

According to Dunn Police Lt. Rodney Rowland, Antonio Blake Bethea, 16, of Sandhills Apartments in Dunn and Donavan Derrell Covington, 20, of 2nd Street in Erwin were both charged with communicating threats.
Mr. Bethea was issued a citation while Mr. Covington was taken to the Harnett County Jail with an additional charge of contributing to the delinquency of minors.
He was held under $5,000 bond.
Lt. Rowland did not immediately know the ages of the two male juveniles charged, but said they’d been placed under juvenile disposition.
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Teacher charged with benefits fraud www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Teacher charged with benefits fraud www.privateofficer.com

Baltimore MD. April 3 2008 A federal grand jury has today indicted a Baltimore County public school teacher from Middle River for allegedly using a second Social Security number to defraud the government out of more than $180,000 in benefits.
Beverly J. Beard, 52, was arrested today after being indicted Wednesday on four counts of Social Security fraud and making false statements.
She illegally collected supplemental security income, Medicaid and federal housing assistance payments, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
She has worked since August 2001 as a full-time teacher with the Baltimore County public schools, prosecutors said.
The school system confirmed today that Beard was currently employed as a teacher, but schools spokeswoman Kara Calder said she was unable to determine where Beard worked. S
chools were closed today for spring break.
Prosecutors said Beard obtained two separate Social Security numbers in 1969 and 1970, and later used one of them to claim benefits that she was ineligible to collect.
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Security guard arrested for posing as police www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Security guard arrested for posing as police officer www.privateofficer.com

Victorville CA. April 3 2008
Justin Wayne Henson worked for a private security firm called California Housing Patrol and was responsible for watching over a Victorville apartment complex, officials said.
But the San Bernardino man is suspected of pretending to work for a much better known CHP — the California Highway Patrol.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials said Henson, driving a Crown Victoria equipped with red and blue lights, stopped a driver and collected personal information, and later harassed patrons at a High Desert roller rink.
Henson, 25, whom deputies suspect is a San Bernardino gang member, was arrested at his Pumalo Street home Wednesday night. He was held on charges of false imprisonment and impersonating a peace officer to benefit a criminal street gang, officials said.
During a search of his home, detectives found police computers, scanners and radios, lighting equipment and uniforms resembling those worn by officers in the Sheriff’s Movement Against Street Hoodlums, or SMASH, team, said Deputy Josh Conley, a member of the Sheriff’s Department’s gang team.
Henson is suspected of wearing a green shirt with shoulder patches and a cloth badge last Saturday near Victorville’s Holiday Skate Center. He had stopped a car in the area, taken the driver’s license and copied the personal information into a notebook, Conley said.
After letting that driver go, Henson pulled into the skating rink’s parking lot and used his car’s public address system to tell patrons to leave, Conley said. When an employee asked whether Henson was with the CHP, meaning the California Highway Patrol, he said yes, Conley said.
“He just looked suspicious,” Holiday Skate Center manager Dasha Luke said by phone Thursday. “We have a lot of kids at our facility, and we just wanted to verify he was an officer of the law. Apparently, he wasn’t.”
Someone wrote down the license-plate number of Henson’s black Crown Victoria. The car appeared to have been spray-painted by hand, officials said.
Henson was found in the area that night and questioned, but he was not arrested.
Sheriff’s detectives in Victorville gathered more evidence and obtained a search warrant for his home, then arrested him Wednesday. He was taken to jail, and bail was set at $50,000.
“He could have made a lot more contacts that we don’t know yet,” Conley said.
Conley said a motive has not been determined.
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Police want to ban “hoodies” www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Police want to ban “hoodies” www.privateofficer.com

Mobile AL. April 3 2008
Mobile Press
The Mobile Police Department wants to ban the sale of a specific kind of hooded sweatshirt that zips over the face and has been used in several recent robberies.
At a Friday afternoon news conference, two cadets modeled the hoodies the police were going after. One was adorned with logos of the rap duo the Insane Clown Posse, and the other was designed to look like an Egyptian sarcophagus.
Unlike ordinary hooded sweatshirts, which zip up to the neck, these garments zipped all the way to the top of the head. Designs were printed on the fabric covering the face, and the shirts had eyeholes cut into them.
I’m almost to the point of outrage concerning the hoodies,” Police Chief Phillip Garrett said. “I don’t think these should be sold. The only reason you would buy one is to disguise your identity.”
The Police Department is looking into writing an ordinance outlawing the sale of the clothing, Garrett said.
The chief also asked that parents go through their teenagers’ closets and cars to see if they own any hoodies. Even if they are not committing a crime, kids wearing the outfits could put themselves at risk of being mistaken for criminals by police, Garrett said.
“I don’t want anybody to get hurt, the child or the police officer,” Garrett said. “But that’s going to happen at some point if this doesn’t slow down.”
Deputy Chief Jim Barber said the hoodies are not just offering camouflage to hardened criminals. Normally good kids are committing crimes because the hoodies give them a feeling of invulnerability, he said.
“This is what’s motivating people who otherwise would not commit crimes to commit some very serious crimes, armed robbery in particular,” Barber said.
But while the hoodies have been worn in a number of recent crimes, Barber said, robbers wearing hoodies are not part of an organized gang.
“There is no hoodie gang,” he said. “There is a hoodie garment that seems to be motivating people to do a lot of things they otherwise wouldn’t.”
Mobile has a mask ordinance that outlaws people covering their face in public outside of Mardi Gras activities. But police officials said it doesn’t apply to the hoodies until they are zipped up, and by then it’s often too late.

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School meeting erupts into assault on police www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

School meeting erupts into assault on police officer www.privateofficer.com

FLORENCE AL April 3 2008 – A school resource officer at Florence Middle School was assaulted this afternoon when a parent-administrator conference became hostile, authorities said.
Janice Johnson, a longtime officer with the Florence Police Department, was struck multiple times during the altercation, officials said.
The right side of her face was noticeably swollen and she received a bump on the back of the head. However, police said she did not suffer any broken bones or any other more serious injuries.
Johnson was treated and released from Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital this afternoon.Police said a 15-year-old student with a history of disciplinary problems was called into a principal’s office for the meeting and was met in the office by his mother, younger sister and older brother.
The meeting became tense and the family members were ultimately told to leave the school property, police said. They added that on their way out, the student’s 19-year-old brother, Rondeaus Boddie, refused to leave, became confrontational and hit Johnson.
The 15-year-old then reportedly got involved in the fight.
At some point during the altercation, the officer fell to the floor as the student and his brother both started hitting her, with the mother, 47-year-old Rosie Ingram, encouraging them, police added.Authorities said the student’s 13-year-old sister also became involved but was restrained by the two school principals who were in the meeting.
They added that the girl fought the principals, trying to get involved in the fight. All three teenagers reportedly took swings at the principals.The four family members ultimately left the school, but were stopped on Royal Avenue and taken into custody by another police officer who was responding to the school after Johnson reported being assaulted.
Reports indicate that Ingram, 317 Handy Homes, was charged with second-degree assault and second-degree hindering prosecution, while Boddie, same address, was charged with second-degree assault and two counts of attempted second-degree assault.
The two juveniles, who live at the same address, are charged with second-degree assault and two counts of attempted second-degree assault.
Assault charges automatically become felonies when the reported victim is a police officer or educator, based on Alabama law.
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Shoplifter drags security officer with vehicle www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Shoplifters drag security officer with vehicle www.privateofficer.com

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. April 3 2008 — Police are searching for two women caught on video shoplifting some clothes, then dragging a security officer who tried to stop them from leaving.
Security cameras recorded one woman stuffing clothes into a purse while the other kept a lookout at the Bealls outlet store on Dunn Avenue.
“She’s looking to see if anybody’s close,” Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ken Jefferson said. “They had absolutely no idea that they were being watched on surveillance video.
The video shows that seconds after they leave the store with merchandise, a security guard chases them out the door.
Police said that the really dangerous part of their crime happened out of view of cameras as what started as a petty theft became a second-degree felony.
With one woman already at the wheel of an older model silver Buick LeSabre, the security grabbed the second woman’s purse just as she got in and the car speed off.
“The car was in motion so he was being dragged at one point, trying to get this property back,” Jefferson told Channel 4’s Laura Mazzeo.
Police said the security officer received only minor injuries.
Police ask anyone who recognizes the woman in the picture or has any knowledge of the crime to call Crimestoppers at 866-845-TIPS.
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Attorney indicted for million dollar theft www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Attorney indicted for million dollar theft www.privateofficer.com

Baltimore MD. April 3 2008
A federal grand jury indicted a former employee of a Baltimore County law firm and accused him of stealing $1 million from his employer and then setting the offices on fire to cover his tracks, prosecutors said yesterday.
George Michael Perez, 32, of Dundalk faces wire fraud, arson and money laundering charges in connection with alleged thefts from Wittstadt & Wittstadt P.A., and the three-alarm fire at the firm’s former offices at 40 S. Dundalk Ave., according to the indictment.
A message left with Mark H. Wittstadt, the firm’s managing partner, was not immediately returned yesterday afternoon. The firm focuses on real estate law, specifically foreclosures and evictions, according to its Web site
According to the indictment, the firm deposited profits from the sale of foreclosed properties in an escrow account at First Mariner Bank, which could be managed via online banking.
Perez, who worked in the firm’s accounting department, would meet monthly with Wittstadt to review account statements. At those meetings, Perez supplied his boss with altered Microsoft Excel spreadsheets that showed normal activity to conceal transfers into Perez’s personal bank account at Bank of America, according to the indictment.
From Dec. 12, 2005, to April 12, 2007, the indictment alleges, Perez made 14 wire transfers totaling $1.04 million from the First Mariner account to his personal one, and then set fire to the office on April 23, 2007, 11 days after the last transfer.
The fire, which was reported about 1:30 a.m., caused an estimated $800,000 in damages to the six-story building, said Donna Welsh of the Baltimore County Fire Department.
The fire was started “at multiple points” and brought under control at 3:44 a.m., she said. One firefighter was taken to Mercy Hospital with minor injuries.
Perez faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the 10 wire fraud counts; 10 years for each of the five money laundering counts; and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison for arson, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for Maryland.

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Mother charged with shoplifting with son www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Mother charged with shoplifting with son www.privateofficer.com

Tipton TN. April 3 2008
A Drummonds mother apparently has been enlisting her 13-year-old son as her shoplifting sidekick, police said this week.
In early March, an Atoka liquor store’s surveillance camera captured Melissa Rodriguez, 32, sneaking bottles of alcohol to her son, who stashed them under his jacket, investigators said.
Wednesday, police charged Rodriguez — who has many aliases — with theft under $500 and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She was released from the Tipton County Jail on $5,000 bond.
The mother’s arrest stemmed from a purse-snatching investigation in Munford, police said.
On March 21, two boys stole an elderly woman’s purse in the parking lot of Fred’s on Munford Avenue, said Munford Police Chief Jim Harger. “They said, ‘Hi,’ then stole her purse.”
Someone recognized the boys and called police, Harger said. Investigators tracked down the boys, 13 and 14, and found the woman’s purse and wallet.
Thursday, the boys were being held on theft charges in Memphis juvenile detention, police said. They have a court hearing in Tipton County Monday. Tipton does not have a juvenile detention facility.
Rodriguez may be charged with helping her son and the other boy in the purse-snatching, Harger said.
This week, a Tipton County Sheriff’s investigator recognized the 13-year-old boy from the shoplifting at Atoka Wine & Spirits. The teen faces charges in that case, Atoka police said.
Investigators said the mother and son may be linked to other shoplifting cases.
Contact Sherri Drake at 529-2510. To read more stories on the Web by this reporter, go to commercialappeal.com, click on Contact Us at the top of the home page and then click on her name.

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Shoplifter charged with having drugs www.privateofficer.com

Posted by privateofficernews on April 3, 2008

Shoplifter also charged with having drugs www.privateofficer.com

MIDDLETOWN NJ April 3 2008 — Police said they found drugs on a 21-year-old woman after she and a 13-year-old Keansburg girl were taken into custody for shoplifting.

Around 8 p.m. Thursday, Officer Daniel Sullivan was called to Super Foodtown on Route 36 in the Port Monmouth section of the township because store security guards had two people in custody for shoplifting, police said.

Store security guards saw Elicia R. Hojer, 21, of Keansburg and a 13-year-old Keansburg girl stealing approximately $90 worth of razor blades and five bottles of assorted types of alcohol, said Detective Lt. Joseph C. Capriotti.
Sullivan found a bag of white powder hidden in a pack of Hojer’s cigarettes, police said.The powder is believed to be an OxyContin pill that had been crushed into powder, said Capriotti.Hojer was charged with shoplifting and possession of a controlled dangerous substance. She also had an outstanding Keansburg municipal court warrant for her arrest.The juvenile was charged with shoplifting and released to her mother.
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