MIAMI – A 45-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday after she started a fire inside a store while shoplifting, authorities said.
The incident was reported at a Family Dollar, located at 541 NE 81st St.
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According to the suspect’s arrest report, surveillance video shows Valerie Lebrun, of Miami, starting a fire in aisle 14 of the store and then walking slowly through each aisle before leaving the store with a bag full of merchandise.
Miami police said the store manager informed officers that he was alerted to the fire in aisle 14 and saw the flames before grabbing a fire extinguish and putting it out.
Police said the video shows that Lebrun was the only person in aisle 14 when the fire started.
According to the arrest report, Lebrun was detained after she returned to the store.
“Why am I in handcuffs?” she asked as she was placed in the back of a police cruiser, according to the report.
Police said an officer informed Lebrun that she was a suspect in an arson case and that she needed to be interviewed by a detective.
According to the report, Lebrun agreed to speak with the detective without an attorney being present and acknowledged being in the store at the time, but claimed she didn’t start the fire and simply walked out of the store when it started, along with everyone else.
Lebrun was arrested on charges of first-degree arson and retail theft under $300. She has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for July 3.