Suspect Turned Herself In To Police
SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz Police have arrested The ‘Bubbly Bandit’ after she turned herself in at the Police Department last Tuesday. The ‘Bubbly Bandit’ turned out to be 49-year-old Laurie Dawn Soderman, a Santa Cruz transient.
On January 19, Police said that Soderman walked out of the Shopper’s Corner in Santa Cruz without paying for six bottles of Champagne. Images in photos released to the media by the police show Soderman walking right past the clerks. She concealed all six bottles under her coat as she walked past the checkout stand while clerks were busy with other customers. The estimated value of the champagne was $600.00, which escalated the incident to grand theft.
Soderman chose the Shopper’s Corner as her latest source for a celebratory drink.
Police stated that after she walked out of the store she drove off in an older model green Ford Explorer.
The next day, after the release of the photos, police received numerous tips that the ‘Bubbly Bandit was Soderman. On February 16, nearly a month after the incident occurred, Soderman turned herself into police. She was booked in the Santa Cruz County jail on charges of shoplifting property of less than $950.00, grand theft and violating her probation. Soderman is being held at the Santa Cruz County Jail in Lieu of 1000.00 Bail.
Soderman has an extensive history of theft, and was on probation for a prior conviction from December of 2013 for second-degree burglary in which she also stole high-end champagne. Arrest records going back to 2005 show several arrests on drug charges as well. In May and August of 2005 she was charged with possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia. Those were followed in September with arrests for petty theft, burglary, possessing stolen property, and conspiracy, along with a drug possession charge.
In December of 2006 she was arrested for grand theft and violating her probation, and in June of 2006 she had another controlled substance possession arrest. She was also arrested twice in 2011 for petty theft.
