JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police announced Thursday that they have charged the girl responsible for trashing a gas station after getting busted by the station attendant trying to steal candy bars.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the 15-year-old girl was identified by a Crime Stoppers tip and is already in police custody on unrelated charges in Okeechobee County.
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The girl entered the Shell gas station at 715 North Main Street on March 3 and placed several candy bars totaling $11 in her pockets trying to hide them. A store employee confronted the woman, but she refused to return the candy bars and tried to leave the gas station.
The employee locked the front door, preventing the woman from leaving. Visibly annoyed, the woman began slinging around bags of chips and other snacks inside the store. The employee eventually unlocked the door and the woman ran off, police said.
Manan Patel, the owner of the Shell station, told News4Jax that the woman damaged about $3,000 in merchandise.
"It took us nine hours, three people (and) 27 labor hours to clean this so a customer could walk in," Patel said.
The girl has been charged with felony criminal mischief.