Sparta Woman ID'd as Grocery Store Shoplifter, Police Say

A Sparta woman has been identified as the shoplifter caught on store security footage leaving the Stop & Shop last week with a cart of unpaid groceries, police said.

Suzzanne E. Piemonte, 45, has been charged with shoplifting after Sparta Police received several anonymous tips when photos of the woman and her Audi SUV were released and posted on the department's Facebook page, Sgt. John-Paul Beebe said.

According to Beebe, the woman was captured on store security footage as she entered the Sparta store on March 30. Surveillance cameras then showed the woman leaving the store with a cart of unpaid groceries that she then loaded into a black Audi SUV and drove away, Beebe said.

Detective Keith Hannam conducted the investigation and was aided by several anonymous tips that identified the woman as Piemonte, Beebe said.

Piemonte was asked to meet with detectives at police headquarters on April 3. She arrived alone and declined to answer questions or make any statements on the advice of an attorney, according to Beebe.

Piemonte is scheduled to appear in Sparta Municipal Court at 6 p.m. on April 16.