Florida Cop Buys Shoplifter Groceries Instead Of Arresting Her

This single Miami mom was having a difficult time economically, but when she shoplifted she never could have imagined what happened next.

Jessica Robles told CNN affiliate WSVN she was desperate and had no money to pay for groceries for her daughter and two young sons. According to Miami-Dade Police, Robles walked out of the store in late September with a cart carrying $300 worth of groceries that she didn’t pay for.

When Officer Vicki Thomas asked Robles why she did it, the young mother said her children were hungry.

Thomas looked at Robles’ past criminal history and didn’t find any major charges, WSVN reported. Instead of being taken into custody, Robles was issued a notice to appear in court and only charged with a misdemeanor.

When the officer asked if she had food at home, Robles said, “I looked at her in her face, and I told her, ‘Not at all.'”

…Thomas decided she was going to help Robles and her family.

“I made the decision to buy her some groceries because arresting her wasn’t going to solve the problem with her children being hungry,” she said.

The officer went back inside Publix and purchased $100 worth of groceries for the family.

Seeing Robles’ sons rummaging through the bags was more than reward enough for her act of generosity, Thomas told WSVN

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.