On Thursday, September 21, 2017, Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a Lakeland woman for taking numerous pieces of mail from the mailboxes of twelve victims.

 

Karen Ellison, 32, removed the mail from from multiple mail boxes on Ollie Road, then concealed it in her clothing. 

 

Ellison told deputies she went out for a walk and started taking mail out of mailboxes on an impulse. She said she did not have permission to remove the mail from the mailboxes, and hid the mail under her clothing. She stated she did not plan to do anything with the mail.

 

She has six previous theft convictions dating back to 2005.

 

Due to her prior convictions, Ellison was charged this time with five counts of felony petit theft (F3).