JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A St. Augustine woman faces charges of child neglect and grand retail theft following an incident at the Kohl’s department store in Bartram Park.
April Felder, 29, was arrested Friday at the store on Old St. Augustine Road. She stole nearly $500 worth of clothing items from Kohl’s while she had a small child with her, according to an arrest affidavit from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
A loss prevention employee followed Felder into the store parking lot, where he confronted her, officials said. Felder ran from the worker and left the child behind, the report said.
A man in a getaway car took off with Felder, but the two were later captured. When officers searched that car, they said, they found more stolen items from other stores.
Knowing Felder was out of jail, News4Jax went to the address listed on her arrest report. A man claiming to be her sister’s boyfriend answered the door.
“She don’t stay here,” he said.
“She doesn’t stay here?” we asked. “This is the address listed on her arrest report.”
“But she don’t stay here,” the man answered, saying he didn’t know how to get in touch with Felder, nor was he familiar with the details of her arrest.
Moments after leaving the house, Felder called our reporter and admitted that she did live at that address. She eventually hung up the phone.
When checking her background, News4Jax learned Felder has been arrested at least 28 times since 2006. Many of those charges were for theft and moving violations. It’s unclear how many times she was convicted of those counts.
Felder became angry on the phone when asked if she wanted to tell her side of the story.