Woman accused of shoplifting, ditching son at Clermont store

CLERMONT, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A Lake County mother is in jail after being accused of shoplifting at a local Walmart, and then leaving her six-year-old son alone in the store.  Lake County deputies said it happened at the Walmart on U.S. Highway 27 in Clermont.  

According to the arrest report, a security officer said he saw two women, 26-year-old Ariana Sousa and 27-year-old Stephanie Lydia, change price tags on some items and pay for some but not for others at the check out line.
The report goes on to state that, when one of the security officers confronted Sousa, she pushed a shopping cart at him and hit him, and then ran out of the store, leaving her child.

Deputies said she then ran across the street, even further from her abandoned child, to a Taco Bell.  She ran inside and hid in the bathroom where deputies said they eventually found and arrested her after a brief struggle.

A check of Sousa's arrest  history shows a few other theft arrests.   Deputies also arrested the other woman. Stephanie Lydia faces theft charges.  Deputies said she is no stranger to the law, having been arrested before on theft charges with one conviction.   Lydia is held on $5,500 bond. 

 Sousa is also charged with unlawful possession of a suspended driver's license, battery, and desertion of a child.  Her bond was set at  $25,000