A Summerfield woman was arrested Thursday after she took several items from a Bealls Department Store in Ocala and then battled theft prevention personnel, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office report says.
Sarah Rebekah Bourassa, 28, was arrested and charged with petit theft, property damage and two counts of obstructing justice after a loss prevention officer at the store saw her take items valued at $95. Those items included a blue pair of men’s Nike slides, a purple women’s tank top, a pair of gray Under Armour women’s shorts and another piece of women’s clothing, the report states.
When Bourassa was stopped in the parking lot by loss prevention officers and taken back into an office inside the store, she became violent and started screaming, the report says.
While one loss prevention officer was restraining her, another tried to call 911, the report says, adding that Bourassa twice pulled the phone cord from the wall in an effort to thwart attempts to report the incident.
Bourassa also pushed one of the loss prevention officers into a wall, causing him to create a hole in the drywall estimated at $400 in damage, the report says.
When Bourassa was confronted by the deputy, she first accused her boyfriend of putting the slides in her purse without her knowledge. But after the deputy viewed video footage that showed her taking the items, she admitted to the crime, the report says.
Bourassa also pulled missing clothes out from underneath her shirt and said she was wearing the missing shorts, the report says. And she admitted to unplugging the phone while the loss prevention officer was attempting to call 911.
The loss prevention officer didn’t press charges for battery, but said he wanted Bourassa trespassed from the store. She was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail on a $4,500 bond.
