BANGOR, Maine — An Old Town woman caught shoplifting at Kohl’s on Saturday slipped out of her handcuffs and popped a prescription pill into her mouth while en route to Penobscot County Jail, Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said Monday.
Officer Dan Sanborn was driving when he noticed that Dawn Thibodeau, 29, “looked like she had something in her mouth,” the sergeant said.
Sandborn pulled his cruiser over and put on gloves to remove what Thibodeau was chewing on, Edwards said.
“It was like green pasty stuff,” the sergeant said. “She said it was a couple of pills.”
Thibodeau later said she attempted to ingest diverted Klonopin, an anti-anxiety medication. She was able to slip out of her handcuffs, pop the pill into her mouth and then return her hands into the restraints, Edwards said. The paste collected from her mouth was kept as evidence, the sergeant said.
Police were called to Kohl’s around 10 a.m. Saturday after Thibodeau reportedly selected lip gloss and a candle and tried to leave the store without paying for them. She was charged with theft by unauthorized taking for the shoplifting, unlawful possession of a scheduled drug for the Klonapin, and falsifying physical evidence for chewing on the pills, Edwards said.
Thibodeau was indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury in December for theft by unauthorized taking for a prior theft, according to a previous Bangor Daily News report. (Nok-Noi Ricker, BDN)
She should have swallowed them. It is not against the law to use drugs just to have them.
But a 20 year old can be busted by consumption. Strange place, here.
I feel bad the cop had to dig the pills out of her mouth. This is one dedicated officer to go digging after pills.
At least the cop didn’t have to worry about getting bit.
There are several reasons why I agree with you. Eww.
Just wish the Law Enforcement here in wash county would do some digging for drug….
Was she not searched before being put in the police car???
i think a copper didn’t do his job cause if he knew she got in and out of her cuffs and took a pill why didn’t they stop her?I got mine off UNDER the bay at the jail(so i was all secure)and I was told I could of been busted for escape charges.I think your right she wasn’t searched and they had to blame it on someone so they say she slipped in and out of the cuffs,think about it…..
Don’t worry, be happy. Till you have to go to jail.
Priceless…
She looks pretty happy, anyway!
Busted for shop lifting? Damn the government for not putting sufficient funds on her EBT card!!!!!! Doesn’t DHHS know she has a couple of rugrats to take care of…at least until she is married. Hope the fiancé makes good money so she won’t get engulfed in a life of crime. Let us pray.
The way she is smiling you’d think she was getting her senior pictures in high school.
Was anyone else mislead by the title to think that she had crammed a whole bottle or bag of drugs? only to find it was 1 or 2 pills. ha ha
When I was a student up at UMaine there was a ton of drug abuse on that campus and that whole Orono / Old Town area. Now Bangor is just as worse. Terrible. One night a long time ago an old man asked some college students to keep down the noise in the next apartment and two of the Umaine students beat him up. Sad times.