Woman Arrested In $3,000 Pharmacy Theft After Crashing Down Embankment While Fleeing Police

A California woman suspected of shoplifting more than $3,000 worth of merchandise from a pharmacy was arrested after she crashed down an embankment while fleeing from law enforcement, police said.

The Upland Police Department said Tuesday that officers responded to a report of a theft in progress at a 24-hour pharmacy at Foothill Boulevard and Mountain Avenue in Upland, east of Los Angeles, at around 2:30 a.m. Friday. An employee reported that a woman loaded multiple carts, but when confronted she only managed to exit with one cart, loading the items into a red Kia Soul before fleeing.

Officers soon located the Kia traveling southbound on Mountain Avenue in “heavy traffic,” police said. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it continued southbound then traveled west on the 10 freeway.

The suspect exited on Fairplex Drive, traveling northbound into the hills near Brackett Field Airport in La Verne. After entering an RV park, the suspect “misjudged a turn, slid down an embankment and into the bushes,” police said.

Surveillance and body-worn camera videos released by police on Tuesday show the suspect inside the pharmacy loading merchandise into a cart, and the ensuing police chase.

The suspect, who was not named, was taken into custody. Police said $3,145.14 in merchandise was recovered from her vehicle.