Warrant Issued For 86-Year-Old Jewel Thief

DUNWOODY, GA -- A warrant has been issued for alleged jewelry thief Doris Payne, Patch has learned.

Payne, internationally known for her exploits in lifting diamonds from the most upscale stores, has had charges pending since she was busted in an Atlanta mall in 2015 on shoplifting charges.

She was due in DeKalb County Magistrate Court on Monday relating to an alleged theft at Perimeter Mall last year.

After she failed to appear, the judge issued a warrant for her arrest, according to WGCL.

Payne has a long history of mischief, including being wanted in several states and even internationally for shoplifting and other offenses. Her exploits border on the comical -- she reportedly pulled off a heist in Switzerland and escaped "through cornfields" -- to the improbable -- she once claimed to have lifted a 10-carat, $545,000 diamond ring out of Monte Carlo in the early 1970s.

Payne grew up in an abusive family in West Virginia and begin a life of crime shortly after reaching young adulthood.

In the DeKalb case, Payne's attorney said that she was on bed rest at home and too weak to appear in court, the TV station reports. The judge challenged Payne's alleged sickness, asking for evidence that she had a medical procedure of some sort.

Payne has an arrest record stretching more than 50 years. While she has done hard time in the past, she has always managed to wrangle herself from trouble with the law.

Through it all, she has maintained a public persona of being confidently detached. She told the Orange County Register in 2015, "I have no remorse. Why? I ain't killed nobody."

Read more: Jewel thief, 86, at it again

Image courtesy of DeKalb County Police