Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kristian Lee Lajoie, 29, and Jessica Ann Mells, 41, have been arrested after allegedly stealing over $1,000 in collectibles from 2nd & Charles and then trying to sell them back to the store.

At about 7:55 p.m. on April 21, Lajoie and Mells allegedly entered 2nd & Charles (2601 NW 13th Street) together, and Mells went to speak to employees, asking them a lot of questions about merchandise but not buying anything. Meanwhile, Lajoie allegedly went to a corner of the store, picked up a vinyl display case that held collectibles, trading cards, and other merchandise, and walked out with Mells without paying for any of the items. The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officer who investigated the case wrote that Mells appeared to be deliberately distracting the employees so Lajoie could steal the display case.

The stolen items were valued at $1,060.69.

On April 23, Mells allegedly returned to the same store with an action figure that had been in the stolen display case and successfully pawned the stolen item for $15. During the transaction, Mells provided her Florida ID card.

On April 24, Lajoie allegedly returned to the store with all the remaining items that had been in the display case and tried to pawn them; employees kept the merchandise and told Lajoie to come back later because it would take them some time to calculate the value of the items. After Lajoie left, the employees contacted GPD.

Mells reportedly called the store several times on April 24, asking when they would be paid for the items Lajoie had brought to the store, but she stopped calling after an employee told her they had reported the theft to the police.

The investigating officer reported that surveillance footage from April 24 shows Lajoie entering the store with the stolen merchandise and handing it to employees in an attempt to re-sell it.

Both suspects were identified by the Florida identification cards they provided to the store employees while attempting to pawn the merchandise.

Both suspects have been charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property.

Lajoie, who was arrested on May 12, has three felony convictions (none violent); Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $45,000.

Mells, who was arrested on May 8, has 12 felony convictions (non-violent) and eight misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); she has served two state prison sentences, with her most recent release in 2019.

Mells was arrested at TB Goods Pawn Shop, where she was allegedly trying to pawn some “suspicious” items; her most recent pawn transaction had been a guitar worth $3,366 that was found to have been stolen from Guitar Center. She has also been charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property in that case, and she has also been booked for possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail set by judges in all these cases adds up to $87,500.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.