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Wheelchaired Senior Arrested in Escondido TheftsPolice have arrested and jailed a wheelchair-using senior citizen for allegedly stealing CDs and DVDs from the Escondido (Calif.) Public Library and selling them on eBay, according to the May 5 Escondido North County Times.Georgianne Lynn Halatek, 63, visited the library two to four times a week for more than a year, according to Escondido City Librarian Laura Mitchell. Library employees became suspicious of her during an April 29 visit after hearing Halatek talk about doing business on eBay, and notified police May 2. Police found that Halatek was offering CDs and DVDs for sale online, with a statement that they were “donated” by the Escondido Public Library, Detective Lieutenant David Mankin told the Times. While arresting Halatek, police found 35 DVDs and 15 CDs in her apartment that were marked as belonging to the library and that had not been checked out to Halatek. “She said she had been stealing DVDs and CDs for the last four months, not just from our library, but others,” Mankin said, although he added that investigators do not know which other libraries she was referring to. Mankin alleges that Halatek stole four or five items at a time while checking out one or two others during the same visit to deflect suspicion. Mitchell said that the library recently spent $30,000 to install new security gates, locking cases for DVDs, and surveillance cameras for the lobby and checkout area, and is training staff to be more vigilant. Posted May 6, 2005. |
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