FARMINGTON — Police say an illegal drug was left in a purse that a Chesterville woman attempted to shoplift from a local store Wednesday evening.
Laura Elliott, 39, faces misdemeanor charges of possession of illegal drugs and theft. In addition she also received a summons on a charge of refusing to submit to arrest and refusing to sign the summons, Bonnie Pomeroy, secretary for Farmington Police Department, said.
Police say Elliott transferred items from her purse into a $23 Walmart purse but then discovered the zipper didn’t work well. The items included containers with small quantities of different illegal drugs, police said.
She then took everything out of the store purse but mistakenly left one small container of marijuana. She walked away and then returned in an attempt to find the marijuana, but a store clerk had already discovered the container, police said.
Police believe she was attempting to take the purse because she had ripped off the price tags and moved the items from her purse into it.
Farmington officer Kim Bates and Sgt. Michael Adcock responded to the store at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and arrested Elliott.
She was later released from Franklin County Detention Center on $3,000 unsecured bail and has a court appearance scheduled for May 19.
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