Aspen woman ‘dealing with kleptomania’ arrested again for theft
A Woody Creek woman who’s been arrested six times in the past decade for stealing everything from coconut water to a pricey pullover landed in jail again Friday for theft, police said.
This time, Jillian White, 61, is accused of trying to sell a pair of skis at a sports equipment consignment shop in town that were stolen last month from near the base of Aspen Mountain, said Aspen Assistant Police Chief Bill Linn.
In March, a former prosecutor called White a habitual thief.
“There’s very significant kleptomania she’s dealing with,” said Andrea Bryan before a Pitkin County District Court judge ordered White to serve three weeks in jail and two years on probation for stealing a $4,100 pullover from Brunello Cucinelli in downtown Aspen in 2013.
In that case, White was arrested after Brunello Cucinelli employees followed her to her Porsche SUV and gave its license number to police.
The latest case against White began in December after a set of women’s Blizzard Black Pearl skis were stolen from the gondola area at Aspen Mountain, said Aspen police Officer Braulio Jerez. Weeks later, the victim in that case ran into a family friend who had the same set of skis, he said.
The family friend reported recently buying the skis at Replay Sports in Aspen, Jerez said.
On Friday, White arrived at Replay Sports to claim the money for the skis, and employees at the store called police, Linn said. An officer stopped White as she was leaving the store and arrested her for driving with a revoked license and theft, he said.
“The officer tracked (the skis) back to Ms. White,” Linn said.
White allegedly consigned the skis at the store under a similar but different name than her own, Linn said. She later told police that person was “traveling in Istanbul” and couldn’t pick up the check herself, Jerez said.
She was charged with misdemeanor theft and then booked into the Pitkin County Jail and released, Linn said.
In the Brunello Cucinelli case, White was initially charged with felony theft for stealing the pullover, though she ended up pleading guilty to misdemeanor theft.
However, her history of shoplifting extends far beyond that.
White was arrested for allegedly stealing patio furniture in 2006, two pairs of sunglasses valued at $434 from the Sunglass Hut in Aspen in June 2008 and two cans of coconut water from Roxy’s Market at the Aspen Business Center in May 2013, according to police reports.
In January 2015, White was caught on surveillance video at the St. Regis Hotel stealing a black faux-leather coat, while just months later she was arrested in New York City on suspicion of stealing a Givenchy purse, according to former prosecutor Andrea Bryan and police reports.
White’s attorney said in March that his client didn’t develop problems until after her 49th birthday, when loneliness, a traumatic brain injury and mental health issues began to affect her aversely.
At her sentencing in March, District Judge Chris Seldin warned White that she could not commit any new offenses while on probation.
“That’s going to be the challenge,” Seldin said at the time.
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