A store owner is hoping to teach a mother a lesson after the woman was caught on camera stealing from a Victorville cosmetics store and appeared to use her children as lookouts during the theft.
In surveillance video from Wednesday, a woman and several children walk into Cosmetic Addiction in Victorville, appearing to shop for some makeup. But the woman grabs four bottles of glitter, conceals them in her right hand and then then calmly walks out with the kids.
"She saw me down the aisle, I guess she thought it was an opportunity to to grab the stuff and leave," said owner Patricia Brambila.
Brambila, a single mother of three children, says the bottles cost only $20. She believes the woman used her children as lookouts so she wouldn't get caught.
"They learn from you as a parent. You are their biggest example. You are their role model, so basically what they see -- that's what they do," she said.
Brambila was able to identify the mother and contacted authorities. Family members came back to the store to return the items, but the bottles had already been opened.
"I cannot risk selling it to another customer," Brambila said.
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She posted the surveillance video on Facebook to make an example of the woman.
Brambila is not upset about the lost money, but rather it's about teaching the mother a lesson.
"You don't do that, especially in front of your kids," she said.
