Crime & Safety

Police: Accused Shoplifter Runs Into Stranger's Apt., Hides Under Bed

An accused shoplifter wouldn't go quietly, literally kicking and screaming as officers arrested her and brought her to headquarters, police say.

An accused shoplifter did everything in her power to avoid arrest and get away from police -- including hiding under a bed in a stranger's apartment and denting a metal holding cell door while she was in restraints, Port Chester police said.

The sequence of events began at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, when security at the Waterfront Place observed 34-year-old Monique Collins acting suspiciously.

When Collins walked past the cash registers without paying for a stash of items, security guards tried to stop her, but she took off, Lt. James Ladeairous said.

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With a guard chasing her, Collins ran into a three-story apartment building at 20 S. Main St. When officers arrived, the store guard pointed them toward the building.

Inside, a man greeted the officers, telling them a strange woman had bolted into his apartment and into his bedroom, where she was hiding under the bed. Officers tried to talk Collins out from under the bed, then dragged her literally kicking and screaming from her hiding place, Ladeairous said.

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They found the stash of 13 "health and beauty items" in the next room, where Collins tried to hide them. The items were worth $78, according to store staff.

Officers had a difficult time getting Collins to headquarters, and the police report says Collins tried to kick out the patrol cruiser's windows.

Police say Collins kept struggling at headquarters, so they placed her in a restraint chair and placed her in a holding cell. But she wasn't done -- according to police, Collins managed to bend the metal holding cell door by kicking it repeatedly and using her body to slam the restraining chair into the door.

Officers eventually brought Collins to White Plains Hospital, where staff helped calm her down before returning her to police. Collins was arraigned this morning in Port Chester village court and sent to Westchester County Jail without bail.

In all, she was charged with half a dozen misdemeanors, a violation and a felony, including petty larceny, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, criminal trespassing and criminal mischief.

Records also revealed Collins had an outstanding warrant dating back to August, when she was accused of violating an order of protection by trying to break into the Purdy Avenue apartment of a former acquaintance.

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