A Tampa woman is behind bars in Polk County after deputies said she went on a shoplifting spree, then sprayed store employees with a chemical while trying to get away.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said 31-year-old Nikita Lindsey went into a Burlington Coat Factory store in the Posner Park Shopping Center near Davenport just before 11 PM Friday.
When an employee offered to assist her, Lindsey reportedly warned her that she would “slap the glasses off of her face” if the employee didn’t move, the arrest affidavit said.
Deputies said she then tried to push a shopping cart full of stolen merchandise out of the store, but the wheels locked. That’s when they said she intentionally sprayed two of the employees with a chemical spray as she attempted to flee.
When several employees went outside, they said Lindsey turned her vehicle around and accelerated directly toward them.
A responding Polk deputy located Lindsey’s Dodge Journey minivan and attempted to stop the vehicle, but said Lindsey instead accelerated, speeding through heavy traffic with her headlights off and ignoring a red traffic light… Fox13 News