On Thursday the Bureau of Corrections issued a press release concerning one of its employees that was charged with grand larceny, however the Bureau failed to make available details about the incident, and its Acting Director Rick T. Mullgrav expressed sadness that the incident had taken place.
But after speaking with VIPD Public Information Officer Kevin Jackson, who later issued a press release in relation to the occurrence, and after meeting with the owner of Diamond Girl Hair & Beauty Supply, the store that had been robbed by Odessa Simon, The Consortium was able to gather substantial information about the events that unfolded on Wednesday at about 2:33 p.m., along with a mugshot of Simon, provided by the VIPD.
According to Diamond Girl’s owner, who shied away from giving his name because he wanted to put the situation behind him, Simon came to the store with a boy in his teens, proceeded to the left aisle of the store and placed two packs of Virgin Hair weave, costing $235 each, in a bag. Simon, the owner said, then came to the front, paused for a moment and returned to the back of the store, stole another pack of Virgin Hair weave from the middle aisle, folded the two she had already stolen and came back to the front, used the child to hide the bag, and left the store without paying for the hidden items.
“I was not going to call the police, but because she was so bold like she didn’t care, I decided to call them,” said the store owner, who made the move to contact authorities after viewing the footage of the incident himself. When police arrived, they examined the footage of Simon stealing the items captured on video, and proceeded to arrest the then-suspect.
“I told the police that I will not press charges,” the store’s owner added. “I simply wanted my money back and don’t want her to come back to my store.”
Simon paid the money to the store owner. Her bail was set at $35,000; however, she was released on her own recognizance, which means that Simon has agreed in writing to appear in court for her upcoming proceedings.