LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An arrest has been made in a St. Matthews shoplifting case thanks to a tip which came in after a WHAS Crime Stoppers report. According to the St. Matthews police chief, they received a call about Keidra Barnett once our story aired about a shoplifting incident at Ulta from November.
Police had already suspected her.
"The Crime Stoppers tip came in and kind of reinforced that we had the right person," Chief Barry Wilkerson explained.
Barnett was arrested shortly after the tip was received. She is charged with theft by unlawful taking.
"A lot of people see this as just shoplifting, a misdemeanor, but our officers are dedicated to taking care of the community and their needs and right now shoplifting is big in St. Matthews," Wilkerson said.
According to the arrest slip, Barnett is accused of stealing $433 worth of merchandise.
Another woman was seen on surveillance video stealing with Barnett. Wilkerson said police are still looking for her.
"It would be great if people did see that and they know who it is to make sure they call us or call 582-CLUE, that would help us I making another arrest and in this case we need to get our shoplifters off the street."
Wilkerson doesn't want to see more businesses hit, and suspects the women in the video have shoplifted before.
"They looked very experienced in how they were doing it," he explained.
Barnett's lengthy record proves just that.
She's been arrested 12 times in the last 21 years for theft by unlawful taking, the exact same crime she's accused of now. She also has additional burglary and drug charges.
"Those can quickly escalate and we want to make sure that doesn't happen," Wilkerson said.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 582-CLUE and be eligible for a cash reward.
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