NYPD sergeant busted for shoplifting $360 worth of designer clothing from Macy's store
NEW YORK: An off-duty NYPD sergeant has been suspended after she was arrested for shoplifting from a Macy's store in Yonkers, New York.
The sergeant, 37-year-old Eva Pena, was busted by the security staff present at the store which is located at the Cross County Mall. Pena was caught red-handed on CCTV footage which showed her trying to steal around six items of clothing estimated to be worth around $360 on Tuesday, September 3, night.
Among the items she tried to steal were Tommy Hilfiger pants, a lace Guess dress, and a beaded Guess shirt. She was stopped at around 830 pm as she was leaving the store.
Pena earns nearly $107,898-a-year as a police officer working in the New York City Housing Authority in the Bronx. The arrest of the officer comes as a massive embarrassment to the NYPD given her recent picture with police commissioner James O'Neill at an event.
According to an internal NYPD report, security cameras showed her taking the sales tags off the clothing and proceeding to put them in her purse as she attempted to leave the store without paying.
It was a female Macy's loss prevention officer who managed to stop Pena from leaving the store with the stolen goods. She was then held in the security office before the Yonkers police authorities arrived on the scene.
After she was arrested by the police, her NYPD bosses revealed her suspension at around 9.15 pm. The internal report stated, "A female identified as Sergeant Eva Pena was observed on store surveillance removing price tags from merchandise, which she then placed six clothing items into her purse and attempted to walk out of Macy's without making payment."
"[The Macy's staffer] approached Sergeant Pena before she could exit the store and found the merchandise in her purse. Sergeant Pena was placed under arrest," the report added.
When she was interviewed by cops, Pena claimed that she had been set up but did not elaborate. She had joined the NYPD in 2005 and had been assigned to the Public Service Area 7 in the Bronx.