By Joe Johnson
An Athens woman reportedly was caught stealing red-handed as she stuffed a suitcase with clothing at a Georgia Square mall department store.
Officers responded to Belk Saturday afternoon on a report of a shoplifting in progress on the sales floor, and upon arrival they watched as 30-year-old Tori Nakita Smith concealed clothing items in a suitcase, according to a report by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
While the officers detained Smith, store employees inventoried the merchandise that she was trying to steal: 20 shirts, 18 pairs of shorts, and 8 hats with a total value of $2,029.99. The suitcase also belonged to Belk, and it retailed for $220.
Smith claimed to the officers that she had never shoplifted before, the report noted, but a check of her criminal history revealed that she had shoplifting arrests dating from 2012 to last month, when she was arrested in Jackson and Oconee counties.
In addition to felony theft by shoplifting, Smith was charged with obstruction of law enforcement and escape.
Those charges are not explained in the report, although it notes that prior to being transported to the jail, Smith was taken to the hospital for an unspecified reason at her request.
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