Doctor Says DFW Airport Theft Was An Accident—But Police Found The Jewelry Five Zippers Deep In Her Bag

A doctor just off of an international flight and connecting at the Dallas – Fort Worth airport says she had been awake for 36 hours and did not realize she had taken two pieces of Kate Spade jewelry. Police found merchandise carrying the store’s matching SKU tags in her belongings. When she worried that she would miss her flight, an officer dropped this bit of truth: “You’re going to miss your flight? You’re going to jail, Sharon.” The bodycam footage was released this week, although the timestamp shows that the incident actually took place on New Year’s Day. A Kate Spade employee in DFW’s Terminal D told officers that earrings and a bracelet were missing after the customer left. The employee had been helping several people and initially wasn’t certain who had taken them. Officers reviewed store surveillance and saw the woman place an item in the front pocket of her sweater. Airport staff then followed her movements through the terminal until police found her sitting at a charging station. There’s more surveillance – and more law enforcement – at airports than just about anywhere else, why would you choose to commit crimes there? The passenger acknowledged immediately that she had been inside Kate Spade. Officer: “Were you in Kate Spade earlier?” Sharon: “I was.” She told police she had picked up gold earrings, rings and a bracelet but had put everything back. When officers asked to search her bags, she agreed. Why agree to the search? Maybe they have enough evidence to get a search anyway but if they’re asking, say no. She said she owned a lot of Kate Spade jewelry and might have similar pieces in her checked bag. Then she mentioned a jewelry pouch in her carry-on. She repeatedly reached into her bags while officers told her to step away and let them conduct the search. Police found jewelry carrying the same SKU information as the merchandise missing from the store inside an Auntie Anne’s pretzel bag. “You put them back on the rack, but these earrings fell into five zippers into your bag?” She admitted handling those pieces but didn’t ‘remember’ putting them in her purse. “I made a mistake.” “I didn’t think I had.” “I didn’t know I was taking them.” She identified herself as an ob-gyn who had spent the past year working in underserved areas of New Mexico. She said she had been awake for 36 hours while on call and was headed to Kansas. The old ‘I’m a tired good person not responsible for my actions!‘ defense. Before officers located the merchandise, one of them explained that if the store got everything back there was “a chance” it might not want to press charges. After she was handcuffed, she complained that police had told her there would be no charges. The officer reminded her that he had only said there was a possibility, and also that she didn’t just return the items. The merchandise was returned to the store, and the edited video says she was charged with theft of property. In terms of the charges, an accident would actually be a defense to theft which requires intent to deprive the owner of property under Texas law – but intent can be inferred from actions. And we seen these actions before. I wrote about another passenger was arrested in the same DFW terminal after taking a Coach wallet and claiming that the store had given it to him free with his purchase. Topics on this page