A springtime heist at an Albemarle County convenience store launched an appeal for help to identify the shirtless "man" who stole cash and a case of beer, and the accompanying suspect’s photograph launched dozens of social media jibes about the suspect’s "moobs," or man boobs.
Court records, however, indicate that the person who wound up shirtless during the April 18 incident at the Ivy Road Shell gas station was 44-year-old Tiffany Mae Quarles. And she’s no man.
"The suspect is described as a black male in his 30’s, 5 foot 10 inches in height, and 200 pounds wearing a black t-shirt, shorts, and a gray mask on his face when entering the location," ran the original police description.
The thief made off with $180 from the cash register and a case of beer. After the county released a grainy picture of the topless "man" toting the cash drawer and a blue case of Modelo Especial lager, social media erupted.
"Man got his tiddies out," posted one online commenter.
"An over the shoulder boulder holder would have been helpful in this situation," said another.
"Dude has a bigger rack than me!" exclaimed one woman on a social media page for CBS19, one of several outlets that carried the story.
The court record, however, shows that, by May 17, when an Albemarle police officer filed a search warrant, investigators had focused on Quarles, a frequent arrestee hailing from Gordonsville, as their lead suspect. Quarles was charged on June 25 with two felonies: robbery using force and public mask-wearing.
The incident at 2212 Ivy Road began shortly after midnight when Virginia law mandates that stores stop selling alcohol. Quarles, however, had her sights set on some beer, according to police.
"When the suspect was advised that the clerk could not sell alcohol at the time, a physical altercation occurred and the suspect grabbed the cash register till," according to the original police statement. "During this altercation, the suspect also removed his t-shirt and face mask."
Law enforcement experts have long noted that cases of mistaken identity aren’t uncommon when witnesses are placed in stressful or traumatic situations. And with Quarles sporting a buzz cut, human error appears to be the case here, according to Albemarle County spokeswoman Logan Bogert.
"The initial description of the suspect, based on witness statements, led us to identify the individual as a Black male," Bogert told The Daily Progress in an email.
She said officials regret putting up pictures of a topless woman.
"We took immediate action to remove the images from our social media sites once we had the correct information," said Bogert. "We regret any confusion this may have caused, particularly concerning the release of photographs."
In addition to CBS19, the images were published by The Daily Progress, Cville Right Now, the Augusta Free Press and 29News.
"It’s kind of a moral dilemma," said Cville Right Now reporter Jay Hart, when informed that his station’s website was carrying an image of a nearly nude woman. "We never received a follow-up press release about an arrest."
By Wednesday afternoon, after The Daily Progress alerted multiple local outlets, most had made changes to their earlier news reports, typically removing the topless photo or otherwise censoring the exposed breasts.
As for Quarles, she is no stranger to the local courts. A state database lists 42 arrests with convictions on such crimes as robbery, resisting arrest, assaulting a family member, assaulting a police officer, distributing cocaine, forgery and obtaining money under false pretenses.
Her most recent conviction came in July for shoplifting in Greene County. Quarles now stands charged with seven probation and good behavior violations across three jurisdictions, charges triggered by that conviction.
Currently held at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, Quarles has a scheduled hearing on the robbery and mask charges on Nov. 21 in Albemarle General District Court. Facing maximum sentences of 20 years and five years respectively, she is represented by the Office of the Public Defender.
While Bogert expressed regret for publishing the topless image of Quarles, that image did at least have some impact on the case.
"After disseminating the information," Bogert wrote in her email to The Daily Progress, "police received a tip through CrimeStoppers that resulted in the identification of a female suspect."
Source: www.dailyprogress.com