An 84-year-old woman who has been an international jewel thief for decades, targeting places like Monte Carlo and France, stole a ring worth $33,000 from a jewelry store in the SouthPark mall earlier this month.
Doris Payne has been convicted of jewelry thefts that begin as far back as the 1950s. On July 11, she walked into the David Yurman mall store in the SouthPark mall and took a diamond-studded platinum ring, according to an email from CMPD that was sent out to nearby jewelers.
As a world-infamous jewelry thief, Payne has stolen from retailers in countries such as France, Britain, and Switzerland.
According to a story by the Associated Press in 2005, Payne enters a store acting as a wealthy woman and asks if she can look at a diamond ring. With a charming air, she remains personable with the jewelry clerk and asks them to bring out a number of pieces to consider.
Then, Payne uses the confusion from the many pieces out on the desk to casually slip one of them on her finger before leaving the store.
The theft of the David Yurman store, which is a luxury jewelry retail chain in Charlotte, occurred sometime prior to 12:30 p.m. Payne stole an engagement ring that had a platinum band and a halo of several small diamonds, the police report shows.
Payne is from West Virginia originally and has allegedly stolen jewels worth up to $2 million in the last 60 years from all over the world. A documentary was made about Payne in 2013, called “The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne,” chronicling her life and choices.
She pleaded guilty last year to one felony count of grand theft and one felony count of burglary for the theft of a 3.5-carat ring worth $22,500 from a jeweler in California. At the time, she was on probation for the theft of another ring from Los Angeles, USA Today reported.
Payne was sentenced to prison for four years and would serve the second half of the time under mandatory supervision. However, she was released three months after her sentence due to jail overcrowding.
After failing to report to her probation officers, the woman was arrested another time last September, the San Francisco Chronicle said, before being released in October when she persuaded the judge she was confused by the reporting requirements.
