Inset: Lisa Debenedictis (Flagler County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Florida Target where police said Debenedictis used her 9-year-old daughter to shoplift (Google Maps).
A Florida mother accused of using her 9-year-old daughter to steal Lysol, earrings and candy from Target while slipping other items past a self-checkout station has accepted a plea deal that keeps her out of prison.
Lisa Debenedictis, 48, was sentenced last week to two years of probation after pleading no contest to felony petit theft, court records show. She also pleaded no contest to driving with a suspended license and received a separate 30-day jail sentence for that offense.
Prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a child under the agreement, according to the records. Debenedictis was ordered to serve the 30-day sentence at the Flagler County Detention Facility.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, police were called to a Target in Flagler County after asset-protection employees reported that a woman and child “were concealing merchandise and had just exited the store.”
Officers contacted Debenedictis and her daughter outside the store before reviewing surveillance footage, the affidavit said. The video allegedly showed both of them taking merchandise. Police said the child concealed $25.97 worth of items in a pink backpack, while Debenedictis failed to scan $47.27 worth of goods at self-checkout.
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“While Lisa was inside the bathroom, [the child] obtained merchandise and placed it into a pink backpack,” the affidavit stated. “Lisa returned … and grabbed a package of Lysol wipes from the shopping cart and placed the item into [the child’s] backpack with her knowledge.”
The pair continued browsing through Target and selected additional “merchandise and produce” before heading to a self-checkout lane, according to the affidavit. “Lisa purposely did not scan numerous items and placed them into a grocery bag,” police wrote.
“Additionally, Lisa purposely failed to scan merchandise that was left inside the grocery cart and did not attempt to scan the items,” the affidavit said.
The child allegedly took “14K Gold Plated Earrings” valued at $19.99, “Gumi Yum” candy worth $2.99 and “Lysol Spray” valued at $2.99, according to the affidavit. Police said Debenedictis took organic sugar, Coca-Cola, bagels, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, feminine wipes, an EcoTools blending brush, “Bodi Sands Self Tanning Drops,” acrylic paint, “colorful stickers” and “card packs.”
“It was determined that Lisa encouraged and assisted [her daughter] to conceal unpaid merchandise with the intent on depriving Target,” the affidavit stated. “Furthermore, Lisa participated in the theft by purposely not scanning numerous items and accompanying [her daughter] out of Target without rendering payment, passing all points of sale. [Her daughter’s] actions constituted a shoplifting — petit theft, which Lisa caused and contributed to [her daughter’s] delinquency.”
The post Mom accused of taking little girl to Target, forcing her to steal Lysol and candy inside pink backpack while she swiped self-tanner learns her fate first appeared on Law & Crime.
