ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- An Odessa woman was arrested on a warrant late last month after investigators said she was allegedly caught on camera stealing hundreds of packages of cigarettes. Samantha Gonzales, 24, has been charged with Theft of Property. She’s also facing a similar charge out of Ector County. 

According to an Odessa Police Department report, on January 18, officers were called to a DK store on E 8^th Street after an employee called 911 and said a known suspect entered the store’s back office and stole a case of cigarettes valued at $4,385.40. The employee said he recognized the suspect as Gonzales because she’d allegedly stolen from another store where he was employed in the past.

Officers then reviewed security video and said they also recognized Gonzales from previous theft arrests. Video reportedly showed Gonzales enter the office and grab a carton of cigarettes, which she then stuffed down her pants. Investigators said she then picked up a case containing another 28 cartons and left the store without paying. 

Gonzales was taken into custody on January 29 and remained in the Ector County Detention Center on a combined $16,000 bond. According to jail records, Gonzales has been charged with theft at least eight times in the past and has been convicted in at least two of those cases.