On the afternoon of November 12, 2015, members of the Burlington Police Department responded to Macy’s located at the Burlington Town Center for a reported Retail Theft in progress. Upon arrival, Officers encountered two females, Patricia Gorton (age 41 of Grand Isle) and Nicole Stowell (age 27 of Colchester), actively engaged in a retail theft scheme. Investigation revealed that the women had gone to the department store to steal jackets and had done so the previous day as well. As part of their scheme, one of the females would enter the store and select numerous jackets and place them near the exit while the other female waited outside in a vehicle. After selecting the jackets and staging them, the other female would enter the store and take the jackets and then abruptly leave without paying for the merchandise. Officers found that the vehicle that the women were using had a license plate that was not assigned to the vehicle covering the vehicle’s assigned plate in an attempt to avoid detection from law enforcement. The value of the jackets that the females stole the previous day was over $700 and the value of the jackets that the females attempted to steal on this date was over $1,000. Gorton and Stowell were both arrested and subsequently lodged at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Center for lack of bail.
Gorton’s criminal history includes 3 felony convictions, 12 misdemeanor convictions, and 3 failures to appear at court proceedings. Additionally, Gorton has two Retail Theft cases pending in the Vermont Superior Court – Criminal Division.
Stowell’s criminal history includes 1 felony conviction, five misdemeanor convictions, and 1 failure to appear at a court proceeding. Additionally, Stowell is currently on probation and has multiple Retail Theft and False Pretenses cases pending against her.
