Shoplifting Suspect Admits To Swiping $500 In Items Daily: Sheriff's Office

BEL AIR, MD — A woman police say is a serial shoplifter and swipes upward of $500 in merchandise daily has been arrested.

On Oct. 30, Harford County sheriff's deputies were called to a retail store in the Festival Shopping Center for a report of a recent theft of more than $1,100 in apparel. On Nov. 8, deputies were called to the same store for a report of another theft involving the same suspect. This time, the woman stole an expensive kitchen appliance and more clothes totaling around $600, the sheriff's office reported.

A sheriff's deputy found the suspect's vehicle parked at a motel in Edgewood and was able to track her down. The suspect, identified as Paulaina L. Nechay, 34, of Halethorpe, confessed to the sheriff's deputy that she attempts to steal $500 to $600 worth of merchandise from retail stores daily. Nechay said she steals from retail stores all over Maryland to "support her drug habit," the police department reported, and said she often steals the merchandise and instantly sells the items at gas stations for half price.

Nechay was arrested and taken to the Harford County Detention Center. She was later released on a $3,000 unsecured bond. The Harford County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the incident.