A woman accused of stealing over $20,000 worth of merchandise from the Ralph Lauren Double RL clothing store in East Hampton Village was a no-show in court last week.
Ruth Pamela Guzman Rosario of Brooklyn, 21, is facing felony charges of third-degree burglary, criminal mischief, grand larceny, and criminal possession of stolen property. Village police also charged her with criminal possession of a weapon and obstructing governmental administration, both misdemeanors.
She is represented by Laura Gretz of the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society, who told East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky on July 29 that Ms. Guzman Rosario had texted her on the morning of her court date to say she had a last-minute emergency and would not be able to attend that day.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney apparently declined to seek a grand jury indictment against her, so her charges remain to be settled in Justice Court. Justice Tekulsky called the D.A.’s failure to indict the woman “outrageous.”
Ms. Guzman Rosario had been remanded to the county jail in Riverside following her arraignment here, until bail was posted. She is said to be facing similar charges in other jurisdictions, where Legal Aid said she had not been indicted either. Details of the additional charges were not disclosed and records pertaining to charges in other New York courts were not available.
The theft happened over Memorial Day weekend. According to police, Ms. Guzman Rosario used a fire extinguisher to break the glass on the door of the Double RL store. Later that day, using a drone, they located her in an apartment on Newtown Lane where she’d been staying with friends.