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PARKERSBURG -- An off-duty police chief helped local law enforcement apprehend a pair of alleged shoplifters over the weekend.
According to criminal complaints filed in Wood County Magistrate Court, Pomeroy Police Chief Mark Proffitt was at Gabe's in the Park Shopping Center around 9:30 p.m. Sunday when he observed a shoplifting. He identified himself as an officer and the two female suspects fled after fighting with the store's loss prevention officer.
Proffitt attempted to follow as the suspects drove away in a gray GMC Colorado, the complaints say. He alerted local officers that the vehicle was running stop signs and traffic lights, swerving into oncoming traffic and traveling at a high rate of speed.
The Pomeroy chief informed officers the vehicle had stopped in a private lot at 1009 29th St. and the passenger fled into the rear of a residence at 1008 30th St.
That individual, later identified as Maggie Jeannette Barnhart, 36, of that 30th Street address, hid in a small crawl space in the basement, a complaint says.
Officers were familiar with the location from previous encounters and forcefully removed her after she refused an order to come out herself, it says.
The driver of the vehicle, Amanda Lauren Grubb, 33, of 1705 36th St., Parkersburg, was questioned by an officer and admitted taking items from Gabe's and driving recklessly, according to a complaint.
As the merchandise from Gabe's was being collected from the truck, items from T.J. Maxx were also located, the complaints say. The driver admitted those items had also been stolen.
Both women were arrested on a charge of first-offense shoplifting, greater than $500. Grubb was also charged with reckless driving, while Barnhart was charged with obstructing.
Both suspects were released on $1,000 bonds.