By Jim Clark

Police officers were dispatched to the Pendelton Outlet located at 520 Assembly Row last Friday on reports of a shoplifting.

Upon arrival, officers were briefed by a store employee on what had happened earlier. According to the employee, a man and a woman entered the store and as the man spoke to her as a distraction tactic, the woman went into a changing room with a blanket valued at $249. The woman reportedly exited the changing room with the blanket concealed under her coat and both she and the man left the store.

The store employee said that she called after them, asking the woman to return the blanket, but instead of returning the man reportedly denied being involved in the matter and they both ran away from the store.

Shortly after taking the report, officers located a couple matching the store employee’s description outside the Christmas Tree Store at the Assembly Square Marketplace.

As officers approached the pair, they reportedly attempted to flee. The female suspect got away, but an officer managed to capture the male, identified as Sean Driscoll, of East Boston.

Driscoll reportedly refused to cooperate with officers in their attempts to identify the female suspect, and gave several different false names for her.

The female suspect was eventually identified by officers, who had prior dealings with her, and was contacted by cell phone and asked to return the stolen merchandise. She reportedly refused to return and a warrant was subsequently issued for her arrest.

Driscoll was placed under arrest on charges of shoplifting over $100 by concealing merchandise and on warrant charges of shoplifting over $100 by asportation, possession of a class B drug, and possession of heroin.