Serial shoplifter targeting Dallas boutique that gives portion of sales to charity
DALLAS - A Dallas boutique is besieged by a serial shoplifter who is stealing more than just clothes.
Surveillance video shows the woman in action inside KF Design Life Style on Lower Greenville. The woman was with an accomplice who drove her away, grabbed clothes, jewelry and purses to either sell them marketplace websites and apps like eBay, Craigslist and Offer Up or selling the goods for whatever on the street.
It is costing owner Kathy Fielder thousands of dollars in her inventory and in money that would have gone for a good cause through charity.
It's almost unbelievable what’s happening to one little unique store on Lower Greenville. The boutique is not only trying to make a profit but also to help other people. It is being picked apart by a shoplifter who feels confident she has found easy prey for her payday.
“We actually have a boutique here. Also, I’m a manufacturer. I own a manufacturing company,” Fielder said. “We have the longest running bedding collection, actually, that we manufacture made in America.”
There is a special collection within the boutique named after a teenager who committed suicide.
“So when you see any kind of the apparel, some of the accessories — the little purses and handbags kind of very fashion oriented — a hundred percent of that goes through the Britt Rose Foundation for Mental Wellness and Suicide Prevention,” the owner explained.
The bold daytime shoplifter stole what could make money for an important cause.
“At least three times that we're certain of, and she has really cost thousands and thousands of dollars worth of damage,” Fielder said. “We've had to put in new security measures, so that cost money. She stole a laptop from my warehouse division so we lost countless hours changing passwords for corporate accounts and things like that.”
This past Sunday, the employee recognized the repeat theft performer.
“She then said, ‘Can I help you?’ And the lady really just confronted her and obviously we don’t want anybody on our staff to ever feel scared or worried to be sitting here,” Fielder said.
The getaway vehicle has been a black Dodge minivan-style SUV.
Fielder is tired of not just stealing from her but from charity.
“We're frustrated, and we're tired of it and we just don’t want no part of this anymore,” she said.
The woman struck again on Thursday. This time, she sent a man in to the boutique as a distraction while she swiped a worker’s wallet.
Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Stephen Comstra at (214) 670-5045. A cash reward is being offered.