Teen charged with taking nearly $3,000 in items from Kohl’s

By Journal Times staff

Monday, December 1, 2008 10:04 PM CST

MOUNT PLEASANT — A teen who used bolt cutters to snip security tags off merchandise walked out of Kohl’s department store with nearly $3,000 in merchandise, police said.

Amber Leigh Dawn Bass, 17, 2122 Chicago St., Racine, is charged with felony retail theft and carrying a concealed weapon. If convicted, she could face up to $20,000 in fines and four years, three months imprisonment.

Court records show Bass was arrested Sunday after a loss prevention officer at the store, 5500 Washington Ave., said Bass was going around the store, hiding items under clothing in her cart. Eventually, the officer said she used bolt cutters to defeat security tags on the items before leaving, making no attempt to purchase any of the items in her cart.

She had walked out with more than 100 items, valued at $2,973.46, according to the loss prevention officer and a police officer who had arrived at the scene.

The officer found Bass has an active forgery warrant with the state of Georgia. Police found she had a pocket knife in her possession; she told officers she carried it for protection.

She told police she had been stealing for some time and that she would steal items for herself or to make money for others. At some point, she said she took orders from people for things they wanted from the store and she would steal them and bring them back.

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