Sussex Woman Tries to Flush Problems Down the Drain

While we all might want to flush away our problems, one Sussex woman is learning the hard way you can’t flush those problems away in a literal sense.

Jaye M. Snake, 57, was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Monday after she and an alleged male accomplice stole items from Menard’s in Waukesha, then tried to flush the items down the toilet to avoid arrest.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Aug. 16, a Menard’s security officer spotted Snake and the man enter the store with a pink backpack, then begin placing items in a shopping cart and on the backpack. He noticed the two put some items in the backpack, so he then followed them to the garden center in the store.  

Snake then put more items in the backpack and slung it over her shoulder, then the two left the store. Outside they were stopped by store staff, who took the backpack, but the two refused to go back inside.

Snake then decided to run into the store and hid in a bathroom stall. She was found inside the stall flushing the toilet constantly in an effort to conceal stolen goods, but she was eventually ordered out.

Officers found rolls of tape and other items in the backpack. Snake faces up to nine months in prison and $10,000 in fines if convicted in the case.