RACINE - A 12-year-old girl persuaded her mother that they should steal designer clothes, according to a criminal complaint.

Geraldine Linden, 41, of 2316 DeKoven Ave., is accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of clothes, purses, shoes and other items from an apartment in the 1500 block of Chatham Street.

According to the criminal complaint, an officer responded to the apartment Thursday for a landlord/tenant problem. The victim said she had been evicted from the apartment, and, when she arrived with a U-Haul truck to pick up her belongings, she found the apartment had been ransacked.

A witness said she saw Linden and her daughter in the apartment filling up garbage bags with clothing, shoes and other items, and putting the bags in an SUV outside. Linden's boyfriend told police he helps with maintenance at the building, and he used a drill to break open the apartment's bolt lock after Linden asked him to do it, according to the complaint.

Linden reportedly told police she took 41 pieces of designer clothing, mostly blue jeans, shirts, scarves and jackets; 12 Coach wallets; five Coach purses; four pairs of Coach shoes; 14 DVDs; two magazines; a digital camera case and a sign saying "Attitude is Everything."

She said she and her daughter took everything together, and her daughter had talked Linden into letting her take the victim's designer clothing and shoes because she liked them, according to the report.

When officers arrived at Linden's home, they reportedly found the daughter had been washing the stolen clothes because she intended to wear them. After searching the house, the value of the stolen items that were recovered was estimated at $2,855, according to the complaint.

Linden is charged with party to the crime of burglary, theft and contributing to the delinquency of a child.