Woman gets $150 fine for shoplifting underpants

CALAIS – She should have bought it when she saw it at Marden’s. Instead, a Canadian woman tried to sneak off with 15 pair of women’s underpants.

What would have been a “bargain” at $29.35 turned out to be a $150 fine.

Kimberly Wyles’ brief encounter with the law led her to court Tuesday where 4th District Court Judge John Romei imposed the fine. The 48-year-old woman lives in Dufferin, New Brunswick, about 25 minutes from the Maine-New Brunswick border.

Marden’s Surplus and Salvage Store on Main Street in Calais is a popular shopping spot for Canadians. On any given day, the store’s parking lot is lined with cars bearing the familiar New Brunswick license plates.

Wyles was shopping in Marden’s on Jan. 13 when store security noted she was acting suspiciously.

First District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh said Tuesday that although it was a routine shoplifting case, it was something his office took seriously.

“She was seen walking through the store hiding things about her cart and person. She then went through the checkout line and bought other items,” he said. “Store security saw her hide undergarments. They confronted her on her way out and she admitted she had them.”

They found most of the underpants in her purse.

Now that Wyles has been convicted of shoplifting it was unclear Tuesday whether her conviction would affect her ability to enter the country. Cavanaugh said that was an immigration issue.

The first district attorney said the impact of shoplifting on small-town stores was staggering. “Every small-town merchant will tell you that any individual case of shoplifting is relatively minor, but the accumulated weight of shoplifting is crushing,” he said.

Shoplifting is a major problem in this country. More than $23 billion worth of goods are stolen from retailers each year. That represents about $25 million a day, according to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention Web site.

About one in 11 people shoplift, which means there are nearly 23 million shoplifters in this country, the Web site added. About 25 percent of shoplifters are children, 75 percent are adults. More than half of the adults say they started shoplifting in their teens.

Many shoplifters buy and steal merchandise in the same visit, and that’s what Wyles did. “There doesn’t appear to be a need for it. She had other purchases from the store that day. Who needs 15 pair?” Cavanaugh asked.