Burglar At Smoke Shop Superstore Arrested Behind Store: Joliet PD

JOLIET — Joliet police say they captured a 36-year-old woman who was in the process of burglarizing the Smoke Shop Superstore at 1358 West Jefferson Street over the weekend.

Melissa Da Costa of Sugar Grove was arrested and given her notice to appear in court on charges of burglary, felony theft, criminal damage to property and possession of burglary tools.

Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English said the following events led to the arrest of the Sugar Grove woman on Sunday:

• At 11:30 p.m., Joliet police responded to the Smoke Shop Superstore for a burglar alarm activation.
• Officers located an occupied Mercedes-Benz C300 with a missing registration in the rear of the business. Officers identified Da Costa inside the vehicle and asked her to get out.
• A door to the business was broken from the bolt lock.
• Joliet police said officers saw open cannabis in plain view in the vehicle and officers recovered several burglary tools including a crowbar, glass cutting tools, bolt cutters, leather gloves and ski masks.
• Officers also recovered over $3,000 in cannabis plant flower products from the vehicle.
• During this investigation, the owner of the business arrived, and police determined that the burglary was captured on video surveillance. Da Costa was placed into custody without incident and her car was towed from the scene.