Atlanta

86-Year-Old Jewel Thief Pleads Guilty to Shoplifting Charge

She was arrested at a mall outside Atlanta after trying to steal a $2,000 necklace

A notorious 86-year-old jewel thief has pleaded guilty to a felony shoplifting charge.

The charge stems from Doris Payne's December arrest at a mall just outside Atlanta. Police said she put a $2,000 necklace in her back pocket and tried to leave a Von Maur department store.

WXIA-TV reports that Payne entered the plea Wednesday. A DeKalb County Superior Court judge sentenced Payne to serve four months of house arrest and three years of probation. A 30-day jail sentence was reduced to time already served.

The judge also banned Payne from entering all Von Maur stores and DeKalb County shopping malls.

Payne is well known in the jewelry world. Authorities have said she's stolen pricey jewels from stores around the world in an illicit career spanning six decades.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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