Woman charged with serial shoplifting

Winnipeg police arrested a woman they allege is behind a string of shoplifting events in Winnipeg this year, swiping up to $4,000.

The 57-year-old woman was arrested Friday at a retail store in the 1400 block of Portage Avenue. In a news release Saturday, police claimed the woman had entered the business, selected around $575 worth of merchandise and attempted to leave the store without paying when she was stopped by staff.

After taking the woman into custody, police conducted further investigation, which led them to believe she was the suspect behind multiple shoplifting events since August.

These included 12 incidents at a store in the 1400 block of Portage between Aug. 7 and Nov. 24, where a total of $3,147 worth of goods was stolen; a Sept. 2 incident in the 1-99 block of Vermillion Road, where roughly $100 was stolen; a Sept. 4 theft of $80 from a store in the 600 block of Sargent Avenue; and an incident on Oct. 16, when a woman stole $103 worth of items from a retail outlet in the 1500 block of Regent Avenue.

All of those incidents were captured on security cameras and reported to police, the news statement said.

The woman was charged with 15 counts of theft under $5,000, and detained in custody.