A Sonoma County woman tried to get away with shoplifting by posing as a 12-year-old girl, police say. But her alleged ruse backfired and the 29-year-old was arrested. It turned out she already had an outstanding warrant for about $250,000 in stolen property, authorities said.
Now, Corenesha Brooks of Antioch is facing five charges of organized retail theft and impersonating a child, according to a press release from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
Officers encountered the suspected 12-year-old during a traffic stop on December 18. Two officers spotted a car with its headlights off and an expired license plate near Highway 37 and Arnold Drive near San Pablo Bay. One of the officers recognized the car from a previous theft in Sonoma County.
After pulling over the car around 10:25 p.m., they found a load of beauty products and alcohol worth an estimated $2,845.
The passenger initially gave officers a false name and a date of birth in 2012, but they were not fooled by the alibi as the woman appeared older, the Sheriff’s Office said. After further investigation, officers identified Brooks and learned that she had an outstanding warrant for her arrest in Contra Costa County on charges related to theft of $250,000.
Neither Brooks nor the driver, Tawa Higgins, 36, could provide receipts for the items in the car, which the Sheriff’s Office believed had been stolen from at least five locations in the county.
Brooks was arrested on suspicion of organized retail theft, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, impersonating another and having an outside warrant. Higgins, from the Contra Costa County city of Pittsburg, was arrested on suspicion of organized retail theft, possession of stolen property and conspiracy.
The women have since been released on $30,000 bail each.
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