***UPDATE***
State attorneys dismissed the charges brought against Smith on Oct. 2, 2017, following a pre-trial diversion program.
A UF student in need of a birthday gift for a friend resorted to stealing $454 in makeup on Monday, Gainesville Police said.
At about 6:15 p.m., Jamie Laine Smith, 19, picked out 17 makeup products from the Sephora section of the J.C. Penney inside the Oaks Mall, according to a police report.
A store employee watched Smith put the items in her purse and leave the store, according to the report.
Smith is a UF anthropology sophomore, wrote UF spokesperson John Hines in an email.
The employee told police another woman, Kendall Elizabeth Berry, 19, was with Smith and took two items and also concealed them in her purse, according to the report.
Smith and Berry tried to leave the store with the stolen items, police said, but they were stopped. Only Smith was arrested.
After her arrest, she told police she didn’t have money to pay for the items and apologized for her behavior, according to the report. She admitted to stealing the makeup and said she planned on giving them to a friend as a birthday gift.
Police arrested Smith on a charge of grand theft. Authorities took her to Alachua County Jail where she was released Tuesday on her own recognizance.
When contacted, Smith declined to comment.
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