Target Shoplifter Injures 2 Officers During Arrest On Long Island, Police Say

A suspected shoplifter is facing charges after allegedly assaulting two police officers during an arrest at a Long Island Target store.

Sapphire Townes, age 30, was arrested after allegedly stealing from a Target store on Sunrise Highway in Valley Stream and assaulting two officers Monday, Nov. 28.
Photo Credit: *Nassau County Police/Google Maps street view*

Michael Mashburn

12/03/2022 6:00 a.m.

Nassau County Police responded to the store, located in Valley Stream on West Sunrise Highway, at around 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28.

Police determined that 30-year-old Sapphire Townes, of Queens, had placed several items into a shopping cart before attempting to leave the Target store without paying.

When officers told Townes that she was being arrested, the woman became violent and combative, injuring two officers, according to police.

The officers were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The department did not elaborate on the extent of their injuries.

Townes was arrested on two counts each of second-degree assault, second-degree robbery, and resisting arrest.

She was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at First District Court in Hempstead.

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