Conn. TV reporter: I was working, not shoplifting

[June 25, 2010]  MILFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Police say a Connecticut television traffic reporter told authorities she was working on a freelance news story when she was arrested for shoplifting.

Thirty-three-year-old Desiree Fontaine is a reporter for WTNH-TV in New Haven. Police say she stole about $105 worth of merchandise from a Milford mall including jewelry, cologne and a men's Hawaiian-style shirt.

She was charged Saturday with misdemeanor larceny, and the police report was released Wednesday.

Police say Fontaine told an officer she was a freelance reporter and was doing "something on the side." She didn't say for whom she was working.

Fontaine's lawyer, Hugh Keefe, declined to comment Thursday.

WTNH says Fontaine is out on personal leave.

[Associated Press]

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