After being caught on suveillance video shoplifting from an Upper West Side pharmacy, a mother and her 11-year-old son have been arrested and both charged with grand larceny. Mom Carolyn Taylor and son Enrique Tate were caught on video stuffing items into a bag Always Love pharmacy on West 72nd Street in January, and Taylor was seen making purchases with a credit card stolen earlier that day from shopper Stuti Khanna at a nearby Gap store. Khanna told the Post, "She's not the best example of a mother and needs to go to a parenting class." That might be an understatement.
Taylor has reportedly been arrested 11 times since 1993 on charges from petit larceny to possession of stolen property, but cops believe this is the first time her son was involved. In the video, Taylor appears to be directing her son on what to nab while the store clerk isn't watching. The two live in East Tremont with Taylor's 13-year-old daughter, and neighbors seemed surprised at the allegations. "She's a nice girl. I'm shocked. I can't believe this," one neighbor told the Daily News. The Administration for Children's Services had also left a note on her door, reading, "Please contact me as soon as possible to discuss issues concerning you and or your children."
Both face up to four years in prison, but Khanna said Tate deserves a second chance. "I don't think it's fair, it's the mom," she said. "Someone needs to give him a chance, to educate him. He's still so young." And such prime Lifetime movie material!
