Satin and lace led to handcuffs and a stint in the slammer for a an 82-year-old woman who tried to make off with some lingerie from the ladies unmentionables section of K-Mart Wednesday.
After being arrested around noon for petty theft, Maria Torres spent a day in jail when she refused to fully identify herself to local law enforcement, said Hollister Police Sgt. Dan Winn.
K-Mart security personnel, who were unavailable for comment, had seen Torres attempting to steal items before but had let her know she had been spotted so she could not complete the crime, Winn said.
"This time they watched her remove tags and hangers, put the items in her purse and walk out," he said. "So they said, 'Sorry, you're going to be arrested.'"
When police arrived and apprehended Torres, she refused to give them any information other than her name and did not have any form of identification on her, Winn said.
"As long as you properly ID yourself we'll give you a ticket and you can walk away," Winn said. "It's a promise to go to court so we know who we're prosecuting... But she wouldn't, so she went to jail, booking photos and all."
While police found witnesses at the scene who knew her and could verify she was who she said she was, they still didn't know her exact address.
Torres also attempted to intimidate the people around her into not speaking with law enforcement, Winn said.
"She was threatening to put curses and hexes on them," he said.
After booking Torres into the county jail, her fingerprints were taken and used to concretely identify her.
She was released Wednesday on her own recognizance and will be required to go to court for the shoplifting ticket, Winn said.
Erin Musgrave can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 336 or at
emusgrave@freelancenews.com.
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