Police: Suspected shoplifters at Modesto CVS pepper-spray employees

Employees of a CVS pharmacy in Modesto who tried to subdue a shoplifter Wednesday night were doused with pepper spray by the shoplifter's accomplice.

About 10 p.m., a woman was caught stealing merchandise from the store at 1700 McHenry Ave., according to Lt. Rick Armendariz of the Modesto Police Department.

Employees locked the front door to prevent the woman from leaving, but a man who was with her succeeded in prying the doors open, Armendariz said.

He used pepper spray on several employees who tried to stop him.

The two escaped from the store and drove away in a green van before police arrived.

The shoplifter is described as a heavyset white woman who was wearing a dark jacket, blue jeans and sunglasses.

Her counterpart is a white man with a goatee, about 6-foot-1, and was wearing a black jacket, black pants and a gray shirt.

This story was originally published December 22, 2011 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Police: Suspected shoplifters at Modesto CVS pepper-spray employees."