The Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office says it’s filed its largest-ever shoplifting case against a woman accused of repeatedly stealing from a local TJ Maxx.
Florence Leslie Miller, 27, is now facing misdemeanor charges that she shoplifted 30 different times over the last eight months, mostly from the same store.
Authorities allege most of the thefts followed the same pattern, with Miller going inside the store for just a few minutes before leaving with “handbags, purses, belts, or clothing without attempting to pay,” the City Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
“Not only is this the largest shoplifting case filed in Long Beach, but the bold nature of the crimes is particularly alarming,” said City Prosecutor Doug Haubert, whose office is responsible for filing misdemeanor cases in Long Beach.
Each time Miller allegedly stole something, it was under $950 in value, which means it did not meet the threshold for a felony crime.
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“This case is an example of the challenges that exist when preventing or combatting retail theft,” said Haubert, who advocated for changes in state law to deal with “chronic criminals.”
Miller would typically leave before officers arrived at the store, but she would then return — sometimes on consecutive days and sometimes multiple times on the same day — to steal something again, Haubert alleged.
“The detectives with the police department really are working around the clock on cases like this,” he said. “It takes a lot more effort than people know to put together a massive case like this.”
The total amount of property Miller is accused of stealing is about $6,000, according to the City Prosecutor’s office.
Haubert said he wouldn’t have been able to file such a large case but for the fact that TJ Maxx employees kept filing police reports and kept photos and videos of the alleged crimes.
Miller was being held Thursday on a $75,000 arrest warrant and was expected to make her first court appearance tomorrow.