A serial shoplifter busted in a series of thefts from lower Manhattan Duane Reade and CVS stores was slapped with 37 criminal charges – but cut loose by a city judge with no bail.
Judge Paul McDonnell let Jacob Poole, who also goes by Jessica Poole, walk on supervised release after she was busted Aug. 23 and charged with 18 counts of petty larceny, 18 counts of criminal possession of stolen property and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Office.
Prosecutors had requested $10,000 bail, a DA spokesperson said.
Jacob Poole was released after being busted on 37 charges.
Poole, 29, has a lengthy rap sheet including 30 prior arrests for grand larceny, robbery, petit larceny and drug-related offenses, cops and sources said.
Before the most recent arrest, she was charged with two other petit larcenies in Manhattan – one for stealing ice cream from a store freezer and another for swiping candy off a shelf.
She is known to rob chain stores and sell whatever she steals – sometimes fleeing using Citi Bikes, sources added.
“It is because of thieves like this everything is locked up in stores,” one Manhattan cop said. “Pretty soon the only thing these shoplifters will be able take is gum.”
“We need to keep criminals like this in jail, they are terrorizing neighborhoods,” said another officer. “Our judicial system has to realize that property crimes affect everyone: Stores close, prices go up, people are afraid to shop.”
A third officer took issue with Bragg’s bail request, as the DA continues to face criticism for a lenient approach to bail and prison requests out of his office.
“The district attorney is being cute by asking for $10,000 bail, this way he can say, ‘don’t look at me, I asked for bail,’” the officer said. “He has to ask for significant bail so it will be harder for these judges to release these recidivists.”
Poole’s recent spree dates back to April, when she took items like perfume, wipes, beef jerky and cologne from stores in Tribeca, Chinatown and the Lower East Side and walked out without paying, according to the criminal complaint against her.
She allegedly hit stores multiple times, including a Duane Reade on North End Avenue she shoplifted from seven times between April and July, the complaint states.
When Poole was arrested on Carlisle Street and Washington Street an officer found two crack pipes in her bag, the complaint says. The circumstances of the arrest weren’t immediately clear.
Poole is due back in court Oct. 4.
