Mom accused of theft tries framing her child, Florida cops say. ‘That’s not true mom’

A Florida mom desperate to avoid arrest tried to convince deputies her child was the one they needed to arrest, but the ruse backfired, investigators say.

Not only did the girl deny the accusation, but she also unwittingly outed her 29-year-old mother as the culprit, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported in an affidavit.

That led to her mom being arrested and charged with grand theft, officials said. It was then discovered the woman already was on probation and wanted for simple battery and shoplifting in Georgia, officials say.

The family finger pointing revolved around a stolen purse — containing $1,630 in goods — that went missing on Feb. 4 from a Five Below store in Davenport, officials say. Davenport is about 35 miles southwest of downtown Orlando.

Tracking devices in the purse revealed its location was taken 3.5 miles south in Haines City, and deputies arrived at the home to find it in the seat of a car, the sheriff’s office says.

“Confronted with that information, (the suspect) began to shift the blame of the theft on other people. … She even blamed her child for taking the purse,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

However, the child refused to take the blame.

“I heard the child state: ‘That’s not true mom, you took that purse,’” a deputy noted in his report.

At that point, the woman “refused to give any further statements” and was arrested, officials said.

In addition to grand theft, she was charged with violation of probation, officials said.

This story was originally published February 13, 2024 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Mom accused of theft tries framing her child, Florida cops say. ‘That’s not true mom’."