News; Stolen Supra Shoes

At approximately 11:00 a.m. on May 5, 2008, defendant and two companions entered a Supra Shoes store. The manager identified defendant as one of the women, who was wearing a brown shirt. One of her companions wore a turquoise shirt. After entering, the three African-American women each went to different areas of the Supra Footwear store. The store manager helped the defendant find a pair of children's shoes, in size 12 1/2. After the manager gave defendant the box of shoes, all three women walked away.



Later, the manager noticed the three women standing side-by-side, facing the infants' shoe bin. As she approached the group, she noticed that a box for children's Supra Skate was upside-down, and protruding from the infants' bin. The box had not been there earlier that morning when the store inventory had been checked.



The manager pulled the box out of the infants' bin and discovered it was empty. The manager asked the women, who were standing there, if they happened to see the pair of shoes. All three women became upset and yelled profanities at the manager. One of the women implied that the manager was asking them about the shoes only because of the color of their skin. Defendant was more specific, stating the manager was accusing her of taking the shoes due to her ethnicity. One of defendant's companions threatened to kick the manager's ass. The three women yelled at the manager for approximately 15 minutes, following the manager to the cash wrap (checkout counter). There, the manager called security, and the three women left the store.



Police responded to the report of the incident, which was the second report at the same outlet center. The first report related to an incident at Supra Skytops Store in the same outlet involving three women matching the description of the women who entered Sketcher's. In that incident, the defendant, wearing a brown shirt, and one of her two companions, wearing a black shirt, entered the store; the woman in the black shirt asked the assistant manager for assistance. Defendant exited the store and returned a few minutes later with the other companion, who was wearing a blue shirt. Defendant sat in a chair provided for customers having their ears pierced in the front of the store, and the companion who entered the store with her walked to that area also, as the first woman went to the register to pay for her purchase. Defendant's blue-shirted companion put something into a bag of chips she was carrying, and then stuffed other products in her clothing.