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The incident began when Southbury Police Officers and Connecticut State Troopers responded to a report of a shoplifting in progress at the KMart at 100 Main St. in the Southbury Plaza on Tuesday.
Officers met with store security and the first suspect, Giovanni Torcasio, 33, of Danbury, police said. Officers escorted Torcasio to his vehicle and saw numerous stolen items in the back seat, including watches, magic cards and other merchandise valued at $268.93, police said.
Torcasio was shopping with his fiance, Denajia Bishop, 27, of New Fairfield, police said. Officers determined that there was an active warrant for her arrest from the Connecticut State Police on a charge of first-degree larceny, police said.
When told of the arrest warrant, Bishop said she was pregnant and going into labor, police said. The Southbury Ambulance responded to Kmart and took her to Danbury Hospital, police said.
EMS personnel checked Bishop and found $91 worth of stolen items underneath her sweatshirt, making her appear pregnant, police said. It was later determined that Bishop was not pregnant and had attempted to fake her pregnancy to avoid arrest, police said.
Bishop told officers that Torcasio told her to hide the items under her sweatshirt because he saw the police come into the store, police said.
Torcasio, 33, of Danbury, was charged with sixth-degree larceny with $1,000 bond. Bishop was charged with sixth-degree welfare fraud/larceny and first-degree larceny from the warrant with $11,000 bond.
Both are due to appear in Waterbury Superior Court in January.
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