Havre de Grace Woman Identified as Shoplifter in Ceiling: Police

A Havre de Grace woman has been identified as the shoplifter who climbed into the ceiling at a Baltimore County supermarket earlier this week to elude officials.

Megan Elizabeth Kestner, 24, of the 800 block of Giles Street, has been charged with theft, drug possession and second-degree assault in connection with an incident at the Wilkens Avenue Giant that began Tuesday afternoon and led to a seven-hour closure of the store, police reported.

Before 3 p.m. on Tuesday, officers responded to the supermarket, where guards stopped a woman—later identified as Kestner—for attempting to leave without paying for several items, according to the report.

Kestner was escorted to the loss prevention office, where guards found needles in her purse and she subsequently ran away, officials said.

Loss prevention agents stopped her in the middle of the store, but Kestner fought them, biting one of the agents in the back, before she climbed onto a platform and disappeared into the ceiling, according to the report.

“The store was closed for the safety of the public while police searched for the suspect,” police said.

Authorities searched for her until approximately 10 p.m., when Kestner was found above the ceiling near the front of the store, officials said.

The items Kestner originally attempted to walk out of the store with were a $2.50 bag of Utz chips and $6 worth of hair accessories, according to police.

Photo Credit: Baltimore County Police Department.

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