A Leesburg woman was arrested after she reportedly broke a grocery store’s door front after not being allowed to buy cigarettes.
Amanda Doris Coulliette, 23, was charged with criminal mischief (over $200 under $1,000 damage) after the incident, which happened Monday afternoon at the Family Food Mart, 1013 W. Dixie Ave.
The store owner told an officer that a woman – later identified as Coulliette – tried to buy cigarettes but was told by employees she couldn’t buy tobacco products without proper identification. The owner said Coulliette became upset and said she had lost her ID and cell phone, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
The store owner said as Coulliette turned and left through the front door, she used enough force that it caused the top left metal hinge of the door to bend out of place and come off both hinges. She then left the location on foot. The owner said it would cost about $500 to replace or repair the door. He and his employees were already working on it, the report said.
The store owner said Coulliette had previously caused issues at the Family Discount Mart in Leesburg and that she was known to him as “shorty.” Due to the descriptions provided, officers believed the suspect to be Coulliette, whom they had multiple prior contacts with at that location, according to the report.
The following day at about 7:55 a.m., officers responded to Family Grocery Food Mart, located at 233 South Canal Street in Leesburg, in reference to Coulliette being at that location. Officers immediately identified her due to multiple prior contacts. This was confirmed by an employee who had been present at the other location at the time Coulliette broke the door, the report said.
The store owner also identified Coulliette as the suspect from the day prior. He said she was still wearing the same clothes she had on when she broke the door, according to the report.
Despite this, Coulliette claimed that she had not been to any food mart or grocery store previous day. She was taken to the Lake County Jail, where bond was at $1,000.
