Police say woman was receiving stolen property at store

Published 4:00 am Saturday, June 19, 2010

Brewton Police are hoping Teresa Knowles’ first run-in with the law will be her last.

Knowles, 44, of Brewton, was arrested and charged with buying/receiving stolen property at her Douglas Avenue business known as Shabby Chic.

Brewton Police Sgt. Steven Ferguson said the arrest was a first for Knowles.

“She has never been in any kind of trouble with the law anywhere,” Ferguson said. “We hope this will be the last time. Hopefully she will straighten things out and not have this problem in the future.”

Ferguson said questions about suspected purchasing of stolen property began a few months ago at the business.

“We recovered some stolen property from the business a few months ago,” Ferguson said Friday. “We began having questions about the business a few weeks ago concerning activity at the business.”

Ferguson said an investigation over the course of several weeks resulted in an undercover operation by the Brewton Police Department.

“We arranged for a controlled delivery to the business of items that Knowles believed were stolen,” Ferguson said. “During the controlled delivery, Knowles purchased the items that she believed were stolen.”

Ferguson said following the investigation a warrant was signed for the arrest of Knowles on the charge of buying/receiving stolen property.

Knowles was arrested June 16 and was transported to the Escambia County Detention Center where she was booked on the charges against her.

She was released on a $5,000 bond.