ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A suspected member of a shoplifting ring will be locked up until trial. Police said Christine Ephrim was one of four people, including a juvenile, behind nearly 70 retail thefts in Albuquerque. Ephrim herself is accused of stealing $17,000 worth of merchandise on 20 different occasions. Prosecutors said she and the others would load carts with detergent and walk out.
In fighting to keep Ephrim in custody, they point to three other shoplifting charges she is facing including one felony count she picked up last month but her defense argued pretrial detention is extreme in this case. Judge Bruce Fox sided with the state and ruled that Ephrim will remain in custody. So far, Ephrim is the only one of the four charged.
