Woman Charged with Theft in Bloomfield Township

Bloomfield Township, MI – A Pontiac woman is being charged after allegedly stealing several items from a Bloomfield Township store before getting into a car with three kids inside.

The Daily Tribune reported that Lanita Mitchell, 38, was arraigned last week in the 48th District Court on one charge of second-degree retail fraud. She is scheduled for a future hearing at 8:45 a.m. on July 5.

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According to a police report, officers were sent to the Five Below store at 2145 Telegraph Road, near West Hickory Grove Road, after getting reports of a woman stealing items.

Store employees said two women were in the store before it closed, and one was hiding several items in a bag.

They learned that a 15-year-old, an 11-year-old and a 2-year-old were in the back seat of the car.

The woman in the passenger seat handed over a bag of store merchandise she admitted to stealing from Five Below. In the bag were books, toys and speakers, valued at $50 in total.

Mitchell said she stole the merchandise on her own and no one else in the car was involved.

Authorities say Mitchell has two prior convictions for felony retail fraud in 2007 in Pontiac.

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