A Mesa woman was arrested last night after police discovered she was using her 13-year-old daughter as a lookout as she attempted to steal an air conditioner from a vacant home.
Mesa police got a call about 8:30 last night regarding two people who were seen in the yard of a vacant home at 249 South Winterhaven Drive in Mesa.
When officers got to the home, they found an air conditioner on the ground in the fenced-in backyard of the home. Near the air conditioner were two backpacks, tools, gloves, and a flashlight. According to police, it looked like someone was in the process of stealing the air conditioner and became startled, leaving their gear behind as they fled the scene.
After finding the air conditioner on the ground, witnesses told police that a white woman, about 35, was seen leaving the property. The witnesses told police the woman lives somewhere in the area, and was using her 13-year-old daughter as a lookout during the theft.
Additional witnesses identified the suspect as 31-year-old Scarlet Lopez. They also told police Lopez lived right down the street from the crime scene.
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Officers contacted Lopez, who told police she was in the yard of the home, but denied attempting to steal the air conditioner -- she claims she was just looking in the windows. Her 13-year-old daughter told police a different story.
When interviewed by police without her mother present, the 13-year-old girl told police her mother told her to act as a lookout as she attempted to steal the air conditioner. The girl told police her mother was carrying a backpack with a lot of tools in it at the time.
Charges against Lopez are pending.
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