A prolific shoplifter who stole from Marks & Spencer was chased down by a plainclothes police officer after fleeing in her Audi. Andrea Berquez, 41, entered the supermarket in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, on May 15 and was captured on CCTV taking an item from the fruit and vegetable aisle and putting it in her bag.
The repeat offender is then seen leaving the store and running towards her parked Audi. A plainclothes police officer tried to stop her as she left the car park, but she failed to stop, according to Kent Police. CCTV shows the officer pursuing her on foot and attempting to stop her a second time, but she drove away again.
Arrest and charges
Patrols in vehicles were alerted, and her car was spotted and followed. Bodycam footage then shows Berquez, from Tonbridge, being arrested as an officer yelled 'Get out of the car'.
She was charged with five counts of theft from a shop between April 25 and May 15. Berquez pleaded guilty and was sentenced at Maidstone Magistrates' Court on September 14 to a two-year conditional discharge order.
Police response
A spokesperson from Kent Police said: 'Officers will continue to work tirelessly to pursue and catch offenders who steal.'
