Famed jewel thief Doris Payne, 85, who is believed to have been stealing jewelry around the world for the past 50 years, was arrested on Friday after she was caught trying to steal earrings from Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead.
She reportedly slipped a pair of $690 Christian Dior earrings into her pocket at an Atlanta Saks Fifth Avenue but was unable to evade security on her way out, police told WSB-TV late Monday.
A loss prevention specialist reported that he saw her on surveillance video as she tried to add to her long list of thefts, a police report said. Officers from the Atlanta Police Department booked her on Friday, and charged her with theft by shoplifting.
"I think these officers just thought it was a run of the mill shoplifting. They took the woman into custody and short time there after they get notice that another jurisdiction had a warrant for her and she was an international thief," said Sgt. Warren Pickard, according to the New York Daily News.
"She put them in her pocket and politely walked out of the store," Pickard continued.
Payne, the star of the 2013 documentary "The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne," gained notoriety for lifting a 10.5-carat diamond in Monte Carlo years ago.
"According to my research, when she was 20 years old, she started committing crimes," Pickard said.
Police say she has made a lifelong career out of jewel theft. Mugshots from her arrests date back to the 1960's. Payne was wanted in Charlotte, N.C., for taking a ring worth more than $30,000.
She was also convicted in 2014 for stealing a diamond ring in Oct. 2013 from a jewelry store in California, reported the Desert Sun. She was on probation for a theft in Los Angeles at the time, and nearly three years removed from a conviction in San Diego.
Her attorney told the media that Payne is in good spirits, but is struggling somewhat with her health.
