Doris Payne, an infamous 86-year-old jewel thief, has been arrested on suspicion of shoplifting at a Walmart in Atlanta. Payne, whose career as a thief spanned six decades, was wearing a monitoring bracelet from a previous bust at the time of the arrest Monday.
Store employees called the police after Payne was spotted moving items from her cart into her purse at around 5pm local time, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
When stopped by the store’s security guards, Payne was found to have items worth a total of $ 86.22 in her bag. She was then taken to the Chamblee jail and later released on bail, only to be rearrested next day over violating probation conditions.
Speaking to NBC News via telephone Tuesday, Payne said she forgot to pay for the items after becoming confused, a symptom of the medication she had taken earlier in the day.
“Thieving was the farthest thing from my mind,” she said.
Payne’s exploits as a thief made her the focus of a Netflix documentary entitled ‘The Life And Crimes of Doris Payne’ in 2014.
In the film, Payne brags of stealing jewelry worth some $ 2 million in the US, France, Monaco and Tokyo during her 60-year crime spree.
“I don’t have any regrets about stealing jewelry,” she says in the film’s trailer. “I regret getting caught.”
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 2008, Payne claims that she stole her first diamond in her 20s and has continued her inglorious career ever since.
In December, the octogenarian was arrested at an upscale retail area in DeKalb County, Atlanta, for stealing a $ 2,000 necklace.
