Rest Easy, Arizonans: They Caught the Glendale Panty Thief

The news hasn't been all that great lately. Americans are losing faith in the government, in the courts, in the media, and, in some places, even in law enforcement. But there is still the occasional flash of good news; in one such, in Glendale, Arizona, the reign of terror of the infamous "Thong Thief" has been brought to an end with the arrest and confession of a 24-year-old woman:

Police have finally arrested an Arizona woman they've labeled the "Thong Thief," the Arizona Republic, a part of the USA TODAY Network, reported Thursday.
Leticia Martinez Perez, 24, is suspected of stealing more than $14,000 worth of underwear from Victoria's Secret stores in west Phoenix in nine different incidents stretching from November to March, according to police records.
Perez was arrested on May 15 by Glendale police.
"No more panty proceeds for her," Glendale Police posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, after Perez's arrest, who they say admitted to selling the underwear for profit.

Glendale residents are breathing a sigh of relief; as the felonious female's crime spree spanned months; several different businesses were hit before the the thief's marathong of theft was stopped. And we cannot argue that Leticia Perez was stealing the underwear out of personal need; she was stealing and selling the pristine panties:

The first documented theft was on Nov. 29 at Desert Sky Mall near 75th Avenue and Thomas Road — where all Phoenix incidents took place, according to police records.
Police say Perez continued to steal from the Phoenix location on Jan. 10, twice on Jan. 23, Jan. 26, Jan. 31, Feb. 1, and Mar. 8.
The last theft was reported on March 20 at Arrowhead Mall near 75th Avenue and Bell Road in Glendale.

It's not known why Ms. Perez apparently stopped her panty raids after March 20th.

NY Times: Don’t Worry About the $112.1B in Shoplifting, It’s a Right-Wing Narrative

The Glendale Police Department released, on X, a piece of video evidence that brought the perp to face justice:

What happens to someone who steals $14K worth of women’s underwear? They get busted by GPD detectives! Leticia Martinez Perez, the “Thong Thief” committed a total of 8 shopliftings from Victoria’s Secret. She admitted to selling them for profit. No more panty proceeds for her. pic.twitter.com/akFgrVkq7z
— Glendale Police (@GlendaleAZPD) May 30, 2024

Glendale Police were able to wedgie a confession out of the thief:

Perez told police in the interview she knew what she was doing was wrong. She was charged with 20 counts of organized retail theft, according to police records.

Hopefully, Ms. Perez will learn something from all this, and her brief flirtation with crime will be her last.

It's good to see that a smaller city like Glendale (pop. 218,000, more or less) can still run down and capture serial thieves. San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York would do well to send their police chiefs and prosecutors there to see how it's done.

Meanwhile, all Arizonans can sleep peacefully at night, knowing their underwear is safe.

This seems appropriate.