Woman fills baby-less stroller with stolen goods

Dec. 27, 2011
Close to $500 in merchandise hidden in stroller when woman attempted to escape from pharmacy store

AMBRIDGE, Pa. -- Police arrested a woman Wednesday night accused of attempting a shoplifting scheme in Ambridge.

Officials said Jill Stumpf, 46, is accused of stuffing the stolen items inside clothing in a baby stroller, trying to make it look like a baby was sleeping.

“We have problems with shoplifters down here, but this was the mother lode,” said Patrolman Timothy Depenhart of the Ambridge Police Department.

Authorities said Stumpf had hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from Rite-Aid in her stroller when store employees stopped her running out the front door.

Stumpf also had close to $500 worth of merchandise in the stroller and clothes that belonged to her friend, police said.

The suspect stuffed the items inside clothes to make it look like a baby was in the stroller, authorities said.

“I went to move it, and the arm dangled down and socks were falling out of it,” Depenhart said. “A can of soup fell out of the sleeve.”

Police said Stumpf appeared intoxicated at the time of her arrest and told officers her name was “Abracadabra.” She does not face any alcohol-related charges.

Stumpf was charged with a misdemeanor count of retail theft. She also has a retail theft charge pending from a July 5 incident, police said.

Stumpf was released from the Beaver County Jail on Thursday after posting $5,000 bond.

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