LONG BEACH – A 27-year-old woman was arrested Thursday for allegedly shoplifting 30 times from the same store, marking what the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office believes to be the largest single case of its kind filed in that city.
Florence Leslie Miller is set to be arraigned Friday in a Long Beach courtroom on 30 misdemeanor theft charges, according to the City Prosecutor’s Office.
The criminal complaint alleges that the crimes occurred between Sept. 9, 2023, and June 13 of this year and that they involved the theft of handbags, jeans, and other items from TJ Maxx.
All of the crimes occurred at the same store, according to City Prosecutor Douglas Haubert.
He said prosecutors would add charges or file additional cases if they discover other retailers were targeted.
The estimated value of the allegedly stolen merchandise was about $6,000, with the value of the alleged theft in each case totaling less than $950, according to the City Prosecutor’s Office, which said anti-theft wire locks were cut to remove some of the merchandise.
Miller was on misdemeanor probation for theft at the time of five of the alleged crimes, according to the City Prosecutor’s Office.
In a statement announcing the case, Haubert said “the bold nature of the crimes is particularly alarming.”
The city prosecutor noted that the persistence from TJ Maxx employees who filed theft reports and kept photos and videos of the incidents ultimately made the filing of the case possible, and commended the Long Beach Police Department for spending the time to piece the case together.
