Woman with nine straight Florida Lottery victories also wins a trip to jail, cops say
An ex-con on felony probation saw a life-changing lucky streak take hold when she won repeatedly in the Florida Lottery, but investigators say it had nothing to do with luck.
Turns out the 38-year-old woman had stolen 48 lottery tickets, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported in an affidavit.
“She went in a convenience store, reached over the counter and stole a whole lot of lottery tickets,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a video posted Sept. 4 on Facebook.
“Then she went to other stores and cashed them in. ... She didn’t win the lottery, but she did win a trip to the county jail.”
The theft took place around 9:45 p.m. on Aug. 4 at a Circle K in Lakeland, and involved $1,500 worth of scratch-off tickets, officials said.
Surveillance video from the store shows someone “wearing a full face covering” lunged over the counter, reached under it and grabbed something.
Being impatient got the woman caught, the sheriff’s office says. She began cashing in tickets almost immediately at nearby stores, redeeming six at one store. Prizes for the nine winning tickets amounted to $470, officials said.
“The Florida Lottery provided documentation of the locations and times of where the stolen winning lottery tickets were redeemed,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Investigative resources were utilized to identify the suspect. A vehicle was observed in the area in the time frame of when the crime occurred. It was learned the vehicle was associated with the suspect.”
The woman was interviewed Aug. 23 at her home in Lakeland and “admitted to redeeming the stolen lottery tickets,” officials said.
She is charged with:
- Unarmed burglary
- Obtaining property by fraud
- Grand theft
- Violation of probation
The suspect was released from prison in February “on felony probation for trafficking in stolen property,” officials say. Her probation was scheduled to end in February 2027.
This story was originally published September 5, 2024 at 5:55 AM with the headline "Woman with nine straight Florida Lottery victories also wins a trip to jail, cops say."