(Credit: Google Street View)
A Philadelphia woman has been charged with felony retail theft after she allegedly stole Plan B emergency contraception from the Rite Aid on South Bethlehem Pike in Upper Dublin Township.
Police were dispatched to the scene at 9:33 a.m. on May 3 for a report of a retail theft that had just occurred. Store personnel reported a female had walked out of the store with Plan B contraception that was still in the security case, setting off the security alarm in the process, police said.
Investigators were provided with the make, model and registration of the woman’s vehicle, which was traced back to 29-year-old Monique Thomas, according to charging documents. A review of Thomas’ driver’s history also showed her license was suspended, the report states.
The total value of the Plan B and security case was $54.99, police said.
In addition to the felony retail theft charge, Thomas has been charged with misdemeanor receiving stolen property and a summary count of driving on a suspended license. She has a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 26 at 11 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Douglas Lavenberg.
Police said Thomas has one prior retail theft conviction and was admitted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program for a second set of retail theft charges in July 2023. In that case, Thomas was granted ARD on felony and misdemeanor charges in exchange for testifying against her co-defendants in a criminal case originating in Limerick Township, court records show.
As a result of that disposition, Thomas was on probation at the time of her May arrest, and the charges from her second arrest could be reinstated.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
