Police arrest female subject in ‘shopping spree’ burglary of tennis complex pro shop

New Albany Police Chief Chris Robertson said officers have arrested 18-year-old Eden Dye in connection with a weekend “shopping spree” burglary of the pro shop at the New Albany tennis complex.

Eden Dye

Dye, who was described as having no fixed address, was taken into custody Thursday night at the Lifecore Health Group, which deals with behavioral health, addiction treatment and other services, in Tupelo.

She is being charged with commercial burglary with bond set at $10,000.

The break-in occurred sometime Sunday, the chief said. Tennis coach and co-manager Suzy Boman said it was not discovered sooner because the complex was not in use due to rain.

The surveillance system for the complex is capable of sending alerts when motion is detected but Boman said that at the time the rain and wind were so heavy that they were triggering false alarms all the time, leading to the actual break-in being overlooked. She added they definitely are going to be beefing up the system.

The suspect broke in through an exterior glass window near the door to the pro shop. It looked like the door had sustained some minor damage as if the suspect had tried to get in through there first.

The suspect was in there about six hours, Boman said, behaving erratically at times, wandering around the shop. During this time the woman loaded a large bag with shoes, sunglasses, clothing and other items. “She basically went on a six-hour shopping spree,” Boman said.

The suspect left the area on foot, as far as could be determined.

Investigation of the case was aided by the fact that the complex and shop are extensively covered by a surveillance system the chief described as one of the best in New Albany, so images of the suspect inside the shop were captured and available, once the burglary had been discovered.

Chief Robertson said some of the items taken have been recovered but have been used and probably are unsellable.

The chief did confirm that the suspect is known to officers and does have a history of substance abuse.