Sandy MaloneEdwardsville, IL – A cell phone video is getting widespread attention for showing a shoplifter getting ditched by her getaway car in Illinois on Saturday and then being chased by police (video below).
Edwardsville police responded to the Hibbett’s Sports store on Troy Road at about 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 4 after an employee reported three suspicious women inside the store, KTVI reported.
The employee who called 911 told the dispatcher that they recognized the suspects from prior shoplifting incidents in the sporting goods store.
As officers arrived in the parking lot, they saw three women who were loaded down with clothing and running from the store, KTVI reported.
Police said that two of the suspects jumped into a gray Ford Fusion and fled the scene.
A cell phone video of the thieves’ escape that was filmed by a bystander showed that the third suspect was left behind by the getaway car.
The video showed a woman desperately yanking on the driver’s side back door of the car with one hand while her other hand held aloft what appeared to be the contents of an entire rack of pants she’d allegedly taken from Hibbett’s Sports.
Instead of unlocking the car doors for the woman, the video showed her partners-in-crime sped off in the grey sedan and left her behind.
The video showed the getaway car actually passed an arriving police SUV as the suspect they’d ditched chased behind them.
When the suspect spotting the arriving officers, she dropped the stolen clothing to the ground and started running.
Police said she gave up after a short chase, KTVI reported.
A second video clip was added that showed the woman being handcuffed by a police officer.
She was arrested and booked into the Madison County Jail, KTVI reported.
Edwardsville police have asked the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office to pursue felony theft charges against the woman.
The suspect was also wanted on a warrant in Missouri for failing to appear in court, according to KTVI.
Police have not yet apprehended the women who fled the scene in the Fusion.
Watch the incident unfold here below:
Moment female shoplifter is abandoned by her getaway driver and dumps entire rack of Nike gear as cops chase her through parking lot pic.twitter.com/xz7mlBjFkO
— Hans Solo (@thandojo) September 7, 2021
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