Suspect shows up with new look, insists friend of a friend 'Stacey' stole the TV
The woman was accused of stealing a 50-inch TV from Zehr's just before closing on Tuesday
A woman in her 30s tried to pass off a theft accusation to "a friend of a friend named 'Stacey,'" after LaSalle police said she was a suspect for theft of a 50-inch TV from Zehr's.
Police were first called after a woman walked out the grocery store with a TV without paying for it, near closing time on Tuesday. Staff noted down her license plate and notified police.
Officers searched for the vehicle in question and went to the suspect's home, where her boyfriend answered the door and said she was not available.
The officer reviewed the suspect's previous mugshot, license photo and the video capture, concluding they were a match.
On Wednesday, the suspect phoned the investigating officer at 7 p.m. She said she was willing to go to police, but was trying to make child care arrangements.
She did not arrive at the station until almost midnight, police say.
'Tired of being blamed'
While police were expecting someone with a ponytail and three visible tattoos on her upper body after reviewing surveillance footage, a woman with "a much shorter haircut" showed up, and it "appeared freshly dyed." The officer also saw dye under her fingernails.
When asked if she had recently cut and dyed her hair, the woman said no.
"'No I've had my hair like this for at least a month,'" police recounted.
And when confronted about the suspected dye on her hands, the woman replied "'Oh, that's dirt, I never washed my hands today.'"
Despite her denial of the allegations, LaSalle police concluded the woman at the station was the suspect they had been looking for — based on the tattoos in the same locations as captured on surveillance, facial similarity and the same shoes.
The woman was arrested for one count of theft under $5,000. Despite the charge, "she still maintained that she was not responsible and indicated that she was tired of being blamed for things she hadn't done," police say.
She was released with a future court date to answer to the charge, but not before police photographed her and collected her fingerprints.