Accused Repeat Shoplifter Arrested at Lord & Taylor

NEW CITY, NY — Clarkstown police report the arrest of a Haverstraw woman who is accused of repeated shoplifting at Lord and Taylor.

At 8:10 p.m. Jan. 7 police responded to Lord and Taylor at the Palisades Mall for a report of shoplifting. The suspect, Ruth Mendez, 29, of Haverstraw, NY, reportedly was observed by a loss prevention employee taking three boxes of Chanel perfume valued at $340.

During the course of the investigation police noted that Mendez had been accused of stealing from Lord and Taylor in November and had signed a trespass notice stating that she would not return to the store and if she did it would be a criminal trespass offense. This is a common practice by department stores to prevent repeat offenders, police said.

Mendez was arrested and transported to police headquarters for processing. She was charged with burglary 3rd (felony), criminal possession of stolen property 5th (misdemeanor), petit larceny (misdemeanor) and criminal trespass 3rd (misdemeanor). Mendez was arraigned in Clarkstown Justice Court. Bail was set at $20,000. She was transported to Rockland County Jail and will return to court on Jan. 11.