Burglarizing doctor’s offices appears to be her specialty. In December 2010, she stole $1,400 in cash, checks, a device to test children’s hearing, and a urine container from Children’s Medical Group inTorrance. She pled guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison, but she was released on parole last November. She was quickly back to her old tricks. Police say she stole about $17,000 in her latest string of eight robberies. She hides in the bathroom of the doctor’s office until employees leave, then pries open drawers, rummaging for anything she can find, including cash, checks, and stamps.
She was caught because a detective familiar with her recognized her from security camera footage. He recognized her hair, with its distinctive stand-on-end style from a Beverly Hills Police Bulletin released a few years ago. She also goes by the name Doris Gambler and 25 other aliases. Security camera footage also played a role in connecting her with these current crimes.
In court she was cantankerous, arguing with the judge to remove the cameras from the courtroom. According to The Daily Breeze she told Judge Thomas Sokolov:
“I’m not newsworthy. I’m an 82-year-old woman who does burglaries. That really pisses me off.”
She struggled to hear until a hearing aid device was given to her. Judge Sokolov, who was also the judge presiding over her last case, entered a not guilty plea on her behalf and set bail at $260,000. Two years ago she was willing to go to prison, saying she wouldn’t be back until she “was in the morgue”, District Attorney Paullete Paccione told ABC News “‘She [Doris] said, ‘I do these things. I plead guilty. I do my time like a lady’”. But this time she will be reappearing in court on September 8th and not quietly going to prison.