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East Austin businesses hit by shoplifter
A locally owned business in East Austin is asking for the public's help after a shoplifter stole several items from its store—an incident captured on surveillance video.
AUSTIN, Texas - A locally owned business in East Austin is asking for the public's help after a shoplifter stole several items from its store—an incident captured on surveillance video.
The same shoplifter may have also stolen from two other businesses, the stolen items totaling more than $5,500.
What they're saying:
Clover + Maven, a small boutique that supports about 100 local artists, says that when someone steals from them, it also impacts the livelihoods of local makers.
More than $1,000 worth of items were stolen from Clover + Maven on Sunday afternoon.
'About seven pieces of jewelry. Yeah, we have a whole shelf in the back that she literally just cleared off," co-owner Ryan Doolittle said.
The small East Austin business owner is trying to identify the woman captured on security footage. The video shows the suspect stuffing handmade goods by local artists into her tote bag before dashing out the side door.
"As the lady was running away, she looked back as she was running with the jewelry dangling from her wrist. So it was kind of a crazy moment," Doolittle said.
"This shoplifter is out and about and seems to be a bit of a kleptomaniac, so we would love for her to be stopped. It's not so much about fostering shame against this person as it is building awareness and making sure it doesn't happen again," Doolittle said.
Doolittle said she has already purchased additional security cameras and filed a report with the Austin Police Department.
Dig deeper:
After posting about the incident on social media, Doolittle says other local businesses reached out, saying they had experienced theft by the same woman.
"Lovecraft and Kindred Spirits are those businesses. It's heartbreaking because I think even more was stolen from one of those stores, and nothing has happened there yet," Doolittle said.
The owner of Kindred Spirits said she believes it is the same woman who stole bags, wallets, and jewelry from her store the previous weekend.
Becky Tenney of Kindred Spirits told FOX 7 Austin by email that a woman had come into the shop around 4:30 p.m. on April 4 and chatted with a sales associate. She then wandered around the store, examining things and asking questions for about an hour.
The woman started picking up bags and wallets that she was "deciding between," and then ran out of the shop with them and some jewelry while the sales associate was busy with another customer.
Tenney also said:
"The crux of it is this: it's painful to be robbed. Small businesses have very limited ability to absorb losses. And the three stores recently hit by thefts are independent, women-owned enterprises that endeavour to lift other small, minority- and women-owned, independent businesses by carrying their handmade goods. I've been very proud of our mission to promote small makers in a way that lifts their visibility; proud to make my living giving platform to makers and creatives and entrepreneurs. It's uncomfortable to witness and become the victim of someone willing to recklessly strip away the joy of the venture. It's taken me a few days to shake off the sadness and decide that one person does not have the right to take that joy from all of us. Whatever motivates a person to steal, I choose to have compassion for their pain, while taking strong measures to protect our small business from this happening again. Live and learn and get smarter, but don't change your values, don't lose sight of your why."
Tenney said that Kindred Spirits has filed a police report and has installed additional security equipment and implemented other new security measures.
What you can do:
Anyone with information is asked to contact the police.
The Source: Information in this report comes from reporting/interviews by FOX 7 Austin's Katie Pratt