Women Charged in Outlet Thefts

Three women were arrested by Limerick Township Police at the Philadelphia Premium Outlets last Friday.

Limerick Police said that on April 13 at 12:49 p.m., Officer Timothy DiGregorio was dispatched to the outlets for a retail theft in progress at .

Upon arrival, DiGregorio met with officials from the Converse Outlet, who said four black females had left the store without paying for four pairs of sneakers. One woman was reportedly pregnant, while another had a toddler with her.

Police said DiGregorio located the women leaving the mall in their vehicle and stopped the vehicle in front of the  store.

According to police, DiGregorio found only three women in the car. In the left rear seat was Dionne Ashley McQueen, 20 of Philadelphia, who had a yellow bag between her legs. The other rear passenger had a 2-year-old boy on her lap.

Police said personnel from the Converse store met DiGregorio at the location of the traffic stop, where they positively identified the women as the alleged thieves. Police said DiGregorio noticed the Forever 21 bag was opened between McQueen's legs, and saw two pairs of shoes. DiGregorio then removed the bag from the vehicle, police said.

In total, police said the bag had three pairs of sneakers from Converse, and 12 clothing items with security sensors still attached. The bag also allegedly contained eight pieces of jewelry from Forever 21. Police said personnel from that store were asked to confirm that the women were in the store. An employee did confirm that, and reported the toddler was knocking items on the floor in the store. According to that employee, the woman who was holding the child in the vehicle had followed behind him inside the store.

Police said the vehicle was towed from the scene to Limerick Recovery and that a search warrant was obtained. McQueen was arrested and arraigned on $2,500 cash bail.

In total, police said they found the following items in the vehicle:

• Converse: (3) pairs of sneakers - $398.94
• Forever 21: (20) pieces of clothing/jewelry - $835.80
• : (1) tan watch - $115
• : (1) shirt, (3) pairs of sneakers - $404.96
• : (1) pair of pants - $38.99
• : (5) pieces of clothing - $120.46

The items totaled $1,914.15. More information will be available next week about the other alleged offenders.