Woman Steals Sweet N Low From Irish Pub

July 23, 2007
Braulio Ramirez

A San Diego woman was arrested Monday for allegedly stealing Sweet N’ Low envelopes from a local Irish pub.

Lisa Boulding, 32, was charged on one count of felony larceny for shoplifting artificial sweetener, prosecutor Helen Gamble said. Boulding now faces up to 5 years in prison and a maximum fine of $75,000.

The incident took place at Jorge’s Irish Pub, located at 4378 Idaho Street in San Diego, Calif. Owner Jorge Baz called authorities after noticing Boulding carrying a purse stuffed with envelopes of the artificial sweetener. The police attempted to negotiate a compromise between Boulding and Baz, but both refused to cooperate.

Boulding eats breakfast at the pub two to three times a week, Baz said, and pays for her meals. He had, however, noticed Boulding hogging envelopes of Sweet N’ Low into her bag. She alternated from table to table taking packets then moves to the coffee table when no one is looking and takes more from there, he said. Baz had decided to drop the incidents. But it became a routine and had to send employees to a nearby 7-eleven to replace the stolen envelopes.

“Two or three packets on your coffee is fine,” Baz said. “But Boulding does her grocery shopping here.”

Jorge Baz reported Boulding has stolen $2,000 to $3,000 worth of Sweet N’ Low envelopes for the past seven months.

Boulding threatened to fire a restraining order after Baz grasped her arm and forced her against the wall, Helen Gamble said.

An arraignment will be held tomorrow July 24, 2007, at 10am. Lance Ito, Superior Court Judge of San Diego, will preside. Boulding’s attorney, Elinor Willis, said her client’s plea for the arraignment tomorrow has not yet been decided.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License