Couple Brought Infant Along for Shoplifting Trip to Sears, Police Say

Middletown police arrested a man and woman at the Oxford Valley Mall last Friday under allegations that they stole jewelry from the Sears store while shopping with their infant.

James Gillespie, 23, and Jamie Bell, 20, neither with a home address listed, each face a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child and a summary offense for theft of merchandise, according to the affidavit.

The report says that officers responded to the Oxford Valley Mall Friday afternoon after a security guard reported the shoplifting. According to police, Bell stole jewelry at the Sears store while the couple browsed with their infant and a second woman. When security officers confronted the group outside the store, Gillespie blocked the guard while holding the baby and told Bell to run, according to the criminal complaint.

Police officers found Gillespie and the other woman pushing a stroller outside the mall and later placed Bell into custody, the report says. According to police, Gillespie had drug paraphernalia in the baby's diaper bag, including a plastic bag with a white, powdery substance and a hypodermic needle.

Gillespie and Bell have been confined to Bucks County prison in lieu of payment of 10 percent bond for $50,000 bail. Their preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. on Dec. 5 before District Judge Leonard Brown.