A woman accused of leaving a store with bags of numerous stolen items took off on foot, running up a hill, across a road, into a yard then through a field to get away. She decided to give up when she had two officers chasing behind her and red and blue lights flashing in front of her.

Lacey Nicole Gott, 35, Ellettsville, was arrested by Officer Debbie McDonald of the Linton Police Department late Wednesday, July 15. Gott was booked in at 11:43 p.m. and was first held without bond pending court appearance.

During an initial hearing in Greene Superior Court last week, her bond was set at $20,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. As of last night, Tuesday, July 28, Gott had not yet posted bond and was still in jail.

Officer McDonald was dispatched to the Walmart store in Linton around 8:50 p.m. on the night of Gott’s arrest. When the store called police, they said a woman was continuing to shop in the store after being told to leave because the store was closed.

As Officer McDonald was parking her patrol vehicle, dispatch told her the woman, later identified as Lacey Gott, had just run out of a fire door on the east side of the store and was running up a hill with bags of merchandise that she had not paid for.

Officer McDonald turned her vehicle around and then saw some Walmart employees pointing toward the road on the east side of the store – County Road 1000 West. McDonald drove up the exit and when she got onto the county road and looked to the east, she saw a woman with blond hair and a reddish pink shirt trying to hide from her in some bushes and trees.

LPD Officers John Agan and Janzen Franklin then arrived to assist, and they exited their vehicles to give chase. Then with McDonald in her vehicle headed north, with red and blue lights flashing, driving parallel to the path the woman was taking, running north through a yard and a field, and Officers Agan and Franklin on foot behind the woman, McDonald turned east onto State Road 54.

When the woman saw McDonald’s car ahead of her, and with the two officers running behind her yelling at her to stop, the woman stopped running and got onto her knees.

The woman gave a false name, changed her name a few times and changed the date of her birth a few times. After the woman was transported to the police department for questioning, Officer McDonald was eventually able to determine her real name was Lacey Gott.

The homeowner of the yard Gott ran through found bags of items from Walmart and turned them over. The items were returned to Walmart.

An employee at the store said when Gott ran out the door, she left her purse behind in a shopping cart. The purse was handed over to an officer.

Officer McDonald reported Gott was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and a controlled substance.

She also reported the merchandise Gott allegedly stole from the store included: Seven 12-packs of Reese’s candy, two swim suit bottoms, 10 bundles of live flowers, six coloring books, one wallet, seven bags of Starbuck’s flavored coffee beans, two bags of Starbuck’s instant flavored coffee, one tote bag, one Maxwell House latte and one large gift bag.

Gott has been charged with:

Possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony,
Theft, with a prior conviction, a Level 6 felony,
Resisting law enforcement – knowingly or intentionally forcibly resists, a Class A misdemeanor,
Possession of a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor, and
Refusal to give identifying information, a Class C misdemeanor.