GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A woman who phoned in a bomb threat to a Target store in southern Kent County to create a diversion for a late November shoplifting spree was sentenced to jail Monday and put on probation.
Victoria L. Smith admitted to making the bomb threat in order to divert attention from her thefts at the Target store at 1925 Market Place Drive SE in Gaines Township.
She was charged with making a false report or threat of a bomb/harmful device, which is punishable by up to four years in prison.
Kent County Circuit Court Judge George Jay Quist sentenced Smith to 30 days in jail with credit for one day served. Smith was also placed on probation for three years.
Kent County deputies say she called in a bomb threat on Nov. 28 to distract employees so she could pilfer items from the Target store.
Smith told Target employees on the phone that they had eight minutes to evacuate the building before a bomb would blow up, investigators said.
Target and a Staples store, which is next door, were evacuated. Law enforcement searched the buildings; they did not find any suspicious packages.
Investigators were able to determine the source of the phone call. Smith was arrested on Feb. 26.
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