An Odessa woman was taken to the Ector County Jail Sunday after being accused of both trying to bite a Family Dollar store employee and stealing a candy bar, candy canes and a bottle of liquor valued at $1.90.
According to an Odessa Police Department report, the assistant manager of the Family Dollar store on South Grant told officers Melissa Llanez, 53, is a frequent shoplifter and when Llanez arrived at the store around 3 p.m. Sunday she saw Llanez begin stuffing merchandise into her purse.
Just after passing the cash registers, the assistant manager said Llanez tripped and fell and she grabbed Llanez’s purse to get the stolen items back, the police report stated.
At that point, the assistant manager said Llanez attacked her. She said other store employees locked the doors to prevent Llanez from leaving and called the police, the report stated.
Video footage showed Llanez grabbing several boxes of candy canes and trying to walk out of the store with them, the report stated. It also showed her trying to bite the assistant manager several times before the officers arrived.
According to the report, officers found a chocolate bar and a Four Loko alcoholic beverage in Llanez’s front coat pocket.
Llanez was arrested on suspicion of robbery, a second-degree felony that carries a potential two to 20-year prison sentence.
Llanez remained in custody Monday night on a $20,000 surety bond.
