85-Year-Old Jewelry Thief Arrested for Allegedly Shoplifting at Saks
The woman stole a pair of Christian Dior earrings.
— -- An international jewelry thief was released from an Atlanta jail yesterday after being accused of stealing a pair of earrings from Saks Fifth Avenue.
Doris Payne, 85, was arrested at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 at the Phipps Plaza mall in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, according to police reports. She was released from the Fulton County Jail on $2,500 bond.
Quintin Alvarez, an assistant asset protection manager for the department store, reported to Atlanta police that he saw Payne on a surveillance tape taking the earrings from the Christian Dior boutique, slipping them into her pocket and exiting the store.
Alvarez refused to comment about Payne's arrest. ABC News has reached out to the mall's private security firm for a statement. A spokesperson for Saks Fifth Avenue declined to comment.
According to the police report, Payne was apprehended inside Phipps Plaza and the jewels were recovered from her pocket. Payne was formally charged with theft and taken to the Fulton County Jail for processing. The earrings were valued at $650.
This was not Payne's first attempt at shoplifting. Payne, who grew up in West Virginia, has been swiping high-end jewelry for decades, according to the Associated Press.
Payne was even the star of the 2013 documentary "The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne," which details how she stole $2 million in bling "from Monte Carlo to Japan," according to the film's website. Her lawyer Shawn McCullers told ABC News that Payne's notoriety is "irrelevant" to this case.
"For those who have an automatic assumption, everyone is entitled to their day in court," McCullers said. "Her past should not dictate her present."
While Payne awaits arraignment, McCullers said Payne's health is his main priority.
"She had her initial appearance in court but we asked for her to be taken either immediately to the hospital or housed in a medical ward," he said.
McCullers declined to comment on Payne's health but noted that she stayed in a medical ward over the weekend.
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