(La Porte County, IN) – Giving in to a sweet tooth sounds innocent enough but, in this case, it could mean time in prison.
Kayla Roche, 35, is charged in La Porte Circuit Court with Level 6 felony theft.
According to court documents, the woman at the Family Express in Kingsbury in late February paid for a bag of ice and a fountain drink but walked out the doors with a pint of ice cream and a pack of Oreo cookies in her coat pocket.
Store surveillance video captured her looking back to make sure the store clerk wasn’t watching before reaching into the freezer for the ice cream and placing it into her pocket, court documents revealed.
Police said the video also showed her lingering around the store before grabbing the Oreos and placing them into her pocket.
The store clerk was suspicious enough about the woman’s behavior inside the store to review the surveillance footage, police said.
According to police, Roche was identified from her name being on the receipt because of her “beverage subscription” at the store that she used to pay for her fountain drink.
The charge was elevated to a felony because of prior theft related convictions out of St. Joseph County.+
