A 35-year-old San Marcos woman accused of shoplifting $600 from Sephora at the Irvine Spectrum was found hiding inside the trunk of her Tesla after she attempted to flee from loss prevention, police said.
Around mid-afternoon on Aug. 14, officers responded to a theft report at the shopping center. When they arrived, loss prevention personnel had lost sight of the suspect in a parking lot, but a nearby witness told officers they saw her enter a white Tesla and crawl into the trunk.
Officers approached the Tesla and saw that the vehicle was running and the lights were flashing, which indicated that someone was inside, Irvine police spokesperson Kyle Oldoerp said.
After “multiple knocks and announcements,” police opened the trunk and found the woman hiding inside.
Partial bodycam footage shows the woman lying flat across the trunk with a neon blanket over her body before police remove it and ask why she was hiding in her trunk.
“Because I’m scared,” she said. “Because you just came after me.”
“For what?” an officer asked. She replied, “for accusing me of taking something.”
Police also found $250 worth of Lululemon clothing items inside her purse. The suspect said she “came in with them.”
The woman was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting, resisting arrest, and possessing burglary tools, including a pair of pliers.
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