Police: Woman Shoplifted from Kohl's with Child in Tow

A 62-year-old woman pushing a shopping cart with a young child seated inside tried to steal about $153 in merchandise from Kohl's Department Store in Lower Nazareth Township Tuesday night, court records say.

Lora Alane Metwally was stopped by a Kohl's loss-prevention official around 8 p.m. in the parking lot of the Northampton Crossings shopping center with the merchandise still in the cart.

Another woman who had been with Metwally inside Kohl's took the child and “fled” in a vehicle, the records say.

According to a criminal complaint filed by Colonial Regional Patrolman Matthew Antonucci, the loss-prevention official observed Metwally and the other woman in the women’s department.

Metwally selected various items and placed them on the bottom of the cart. After Metwally finished selecting merchandise, the other woman left the store. Metwally then left with the cart and the child, bypassing all registers, the complaint said.

The loss-prevention official brought Metwally from the parking lot to his office in the store, while the other woman left with the child.

The merchandise in the cart was valued at $152.90. All of the merchandise was recovered, meaning no restitution was required.

Metwally’s address is the 5700 block of Sullivan Trail in the Belfast section of Plainfield Township. She was described in the complaint as having a previous retail theft conviction in New Jersey.

She was charged with retail theft in the Kohl's incident.

She was arraigned Tuesday night by on-duty District Judge Jackie Taschner of Palmer Township and released on $5,000 unsecured bail.