N'western Student charged with theft after eating $0.41 of candy

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Student charged with theft after eating $0.41 of candy

A Northwestern student was charged Sunday with retail theft after she ate two to three pieces of candy from a bulk bin at an Evanston convenience store before paying for it, police said.

Alison Baenen, 21, was arrested Sunday at 12:04 a.m. at White Hen Pantry, 817 Emerson St., said Cmdr. Joe Bellino of Evanston Police Department.

The consumed candy was valued at 41 cents.

Baenen, a Weinberg senior, said she intended to pay for the candy but did not get the chance.

According to Baenen, when she was buying candy, she took a peach ring and ate it. One of the workers behind the counter saw her and told her to stop eating the candy.

She said she apologized and continued to fill her bag with the intent to pay for the candy, but the worker had already called the police.

"I ate the candy and it was wrong and I apologize for that," she said. "And I would have paid whatever he thought necessary to pay but I was never given that option. It was scary."

An officer spoke with the employee and offered to have Baenen pay for the candy and never return to the store.

The employee refused and insisted that he wanted to file a complaint and have Baenen arrested, Bellino said.

Baenen said the experience left a bad taste in her mouth.

"I was really humiliated," she said. "I was handcuffed. I'm a good kid. I'm not what you really call reckless or a danger to society."

Baenen is scheduled to appear in Cook County Circuit Court in Skokie on May 1