Houston Chronicle by Gabrielle Banks Oct. 24, 2019
Life was on course for Alaina Alejandra Villa until, she says, Target misidentified her as the taco seasoning bandit.
The 31-year-old Spring mother of two could volunteer when she wanted at her children’s school, she’d lined up a new banking job at a credit union and planned an elaborate party for her upcoming nuptials.
But it all unraveled when police tagged her, based on surveillance videos, as the culprit of a crafty shoplifting spree over three days at Target stores in Atascocita and Spring, according to a $1 million federal lawsuit Villa filed Tuesday.
The “Taco seasoning bandit,†as she’s called in court documents, was reportedly caught on video in July 2018 at the self-checkout aisle, palming a 99-cent Knorr spice packet and scanning its bar code repeatedly as she faux-scanned an air purifier ($152.99), a duvet ($89.99), two window valances ($49.98), a dinnerware set ($59.99), a Rocket vacuum ($189.99) and other household items.
The Harris County district attorney charged Villa with misdemeanor theft, saying she matched the image of the woman on the surveillance video in the store and parking lot who walked off with $591 of merchandise in back-to-back visits at the Atascocita and Spring Target stores last summer.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Spring-woman-sues-saying-she-s-not-the-Target-14558194.phpAre we going to have more and more of this when "Facial Recognition" becomes utilized more and more?