Doris Payne, an 85-year-old woman who over five decades has stolen an estimated $2 million in jewelry across the U.S. and Europe, was arrested in Atlanta on Oct. 23 after a guard spotted her pocketing a pair of earrings at Saks Fifth Avenue.
After charging her with theft by shoplifting greater than $500 — a possible felony in Georgia — Atlanta police realized that she was also wanted in Charlotte for stealing a ring worth $33,000 from a David Yurman shop in July, USA Today reported. Authorities could extradite her to North Carolina.
Payne, at this point a legendary career criminal, has been arrested more than 20 times. Her criminal career dates to her childhood in Ohio, when she realized that she could “cause the man in the jewelry store to forget” that she was leaving the store with a piece of jewelry still on her person. This has been her strategy ever since: she visits shops posing as an affluent older woman, charming the store clerks into thinking that she can afford the numerous watches and rings she tries on. The clerks eventually lose count of the pieces of jewelry, and Payne pockets them, then slips out of the store.
“She is a woman and has a stately appearance about her,” Ron Eddins, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the Associated Press in 2005. “So it’s hard for people to believe she’s a liar, cheater and a stealer.”
Payne has stolen jewelry in numerous states, and also Greece, Switzerland, England and France.
17 of History’s Most Rebellious Women
u003cstrongu003eNadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot, Russiau003c/strongu003enMembers of the feminist punk rock collective were jailed after protesting Russian President Putin in a church. The group has since used its notoriety to promote human rights issues. The very name of the band is meant to turn something passive into something powerful.Yuri Kozyrev—Noor for TIMEu003cstrongu003eTawakul Karman, Yemennu003c/strongu003enTawakul Karman, chair of Women Journalists Without Chains — a Yemeni group that defends human rights and freedom of expression — pressured former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down from power, which he held from 1978 to 2012. She was arrested several times during her peaceful protests.Hani Mohammedu0026mdash;APu003cstrongu003eAung San Suu Kyi, Myanmaru003c/strongu003enNobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu has been the foremost leader in the effort to democratize the Southeast Asian nation as well as a courageous advocate for human rights and peaceful revolution. She spent 15 years under house arrest when the government refused to cede power to her after her party was elected.nAlison Wright—Corbisu003cstrongu003eCorazon Aquino, the Philippinesnu003c/strongu003e When Corazon Aquino's senator husband was assassinated in 1983, Aquino ran against 20-year autocrat Ferdinand Marcos in his stead. Though Marcos claimed victory, Aquino led a peaceful revolution across the nation of impoverished islands. Aquino became President of the Philippines upon Marcos' resignation.Willia Vicoyu0026mdash; Reuters/Corbisu003cstrongu003ePhoolan Devi, Indiau003c/strongu003e Phoolan Devi began a streak of violent robberies across northern and central India, targeting upper castes. In 1981 she led her gang of bandits to massacre more than 20 men in the high-caste village where her former lover was killed. Devi negotiated her sentence with the Indian government to 11 years in jail.Getty Imagesu003cstrongu003eAngela Davis, the U.S.u003c/strongu003e Angela Davis, a political activist, scholar and author, was accused of supplying the gun in the death of a federal judge. She fled, landing her a spot on the Most Wanted list. Davis was caught in New York but was acquitted in 1972, backed by activist supporters who demanded her freedom. Hulton Archiveu0026mdash;Getty Imagesu003cstrongu003eGolda Meir, Israelu003c/strongu003eAlthough best known as Israel's Prime Minister during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Meir made her mark on the revolutionary Zionist movement during the pre-state period when during a 1948 trip to the U.S., she raised $50 million from the Jewish diaspora community, making a state of Israel possible.Bettmannu0026mdash;Corbisu003cstrongu003eVilma Lucila Espín, Cubau003c/strongu003e The spirit of the Cuba's communist revolution was most vividly embodied by its u0022First Lady,u0022 Vilma Lucila Espín. After training as a chemical engineer, Espín took up arms against the Batista dictatorship in the 1950s and debunked the notion of the docile Caribbean woman with her full army fatigues.APu003cstrongu003eJanet Jagan, Guyanau003c/strongu003enChicago-born Janet Jagan and her husband founded the People's Progressive Party in Guyana, which sought to promote Marxist ideals. Her hand in protests got her thrown in jail by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. She was elected Guyana's first female President in 1997.Harry Bensonu0026mdash;Getty Imagesu003cstrongu003eJiang Qing, Chinau003c/strongu003enAfter marrying Chairman Mao Zedong in 1938, Jiang Qing climbed the ladder of the Communist Party, eventually becoming the leader of the infamous Gang of Four. Jiang refused to apologize for the criminal charges that were eventually brought against her, instead spending a decade in prison before dying.nBettmann—Corbisu003cstrongu003eNadezhda Krupskaya, Russiau003c/strongu003eAlong with fellow radical Vladimir Lenin, Nadezhda Krupskaya helped set up the League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class in 1895. Police arrested them both, and they married while exiled in Siberia. After her release in 1901, she ran Iskra (the Spark), an international newspaper for Marxists. Hulton-Deutsch Collection—Corbisu003cstrongu003eSusan B. Anthony, the U.S. u003c/strongu003eIn 1851, Susan B. Anthony met fellow women's-rights advocate Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the outspoken duo began touring the country arguing the case for women's suffrage.U.S. marshals arrested Anthony for voting illegally in 1872. She died before the 19th Amendment was passed.Frances Benjamin Johnstonu0026mdash;Corbisu003cstrongu003eEmmeline Pankhurst, Britainu003c/strongu003eu0026lt;br Emmeline Pankhurst formed the Womenu0026#039;s Social and Political Union in Britain, which carried out public demonstrations and did not shy away from arson, vandalism or hunger strikes. Pankhurst was routinely arrested, but she never strayed from her pursuit of womenu0026#039;s suffrage.Bettmann—Corbisu003cstrongu003eHarriet Tubman, the U.S.u003c/strongu003e Harriet Tubman, who was born a slave in 1820, fled Maryland for the free state of Pennsylvania. Over the years, she went on 19 missions to rescue more than 300 slaves on the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War, she was the first woman to lead a military expedition, liberating more than 700 slaves. nCorbisu003cstrongu003eMary Wollstonecraft, Britainu003c/strongu003eIn 18th century Britain, Mary Wollstonecraft made the unprecedented claim that the rights of women are equal to those of men. In her two most famous works, A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1791), she takes on Edmund Burke with her then-radical feminism.Hulton Archiveu0026mdash;Getty Imagesu003cstrongu003eJoan of Arc, Franceu003c/strongu003e Spurred by dreams in which Christian saints would urge her to fight the English, Joan of Arc famously led the assault that lifted the English siege of the city of Orleans in 1429, turning the tide in favor of the French. But a few years later, Joan was captured and burned in a public square on grounds of witchcraft. Getty Imagesu003cstrongu003eBoudica, Britainu003c/strongu003eIn the 1st century A.D., Boudica, Queen of the Iceni rebelled against her daughters were raped and she was publicly flogged by Roman officials. Boudica led a coalition of tribes on a revenge mission and razed ancient London. Though her rebellion failed, she is remembered as one of Britain's original nationalist heroes.Hulton Archiveu0026mdash;Getty Images
