Kicking windows, screaming, and throwing candy across a Philadelphia 7-Eleven, a woman tried — in vain — to leave the convenience store where she was being held against her will.
A clerk locked her and another woman inside the store along 5000 block of Frankford Avenue over suspicion they had shoplifted the night before.
The lock-in eventually escalated into an alleged assault when the woman and a Philadelphia police officer scuffled on the floor. Police allege both women assaulted other people stuck inside the store and threatened to burn the place down after spraying lighter fluid.
The Oct. 1 incident now has the women — 20-year-old Lashae Whitaker and 28-year-old Tiera Brown — facing felony assault charges. The city police department's Internal Affairs Division is also reviewing the case.
Witnesses to the lock-in recorded video of the women trying to leave the store and the resulting disorder. The footage was posted to YouTube and other social networks.
Under Pennsylvania law, store owners and clerks are allowed to detain customers suspected of shoplifting as long as they have probable cause.
Both women were arraigned earlier this month. Whitaker remains in jail on $20,000 bail, according to court records.
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Max Kramer, Whitaker's attorney, said Friday he believes the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office filed unnecessary charges in the case.
Attempts to reach Brown at her home and by phone were not successful.
