Suspected Publix Shoplifter Admits to Pouring Wine in Sprite Bottle and Concealing it in Her Purse

A Winder resident was arrested Feb. 21, 2012, at a local supermarket after she admitted to a police officer she had poured wine into a Sprite bottle and concealed it in her purse.

About 5:52 p.m., a Winder police officer was dispatched to the at the Winder Corners shopping center in reference to a report of a shoplifter. According to the store's loss prevention officer, a woman had attempted to steal approximately $11 in merchandise. The employee said he observed the suspect take a sub sandwich to the restroom, along with a bottle of wine, before eating half the sandwich and throwing the empty wine bottle into a trash can.

The suspect, 49-year-old Mary Wright of 122 E. Kimball St., told the officer she did not drink the wine but put it into a Sprite bottle inside her purse. She was placed under arrest for theft by shoplifting and transported to the Barrow County Detention Center.