Lorena Tavera, a former pageant winner allegedly left a El Paso department store before paying for a shirt tucked inside her plastic shopping bag.
The winner of 2008’s El Paso beauty pageant was held by Dillard’s employees outside the store Friday night, until police arrived and arrested her for allegedly stealing a $69 shirt. She posted bail on Saturday. As Miss El Paso she went on to compete in the Miss Texas competition in hopes of competing for Miss USA - she came in 6th place. Current reports have indicated she is a modeling instructor while attending the University of Texas, El Paso.
The 21-year old beauty who also won the 2006 Miss El Paso Teen, told NewsChannel 9 over the phone that she was going to “contact my lawyer; This story can’t be run. The story is wrong first of all. It’s been misconstrued and it’s twisted, so I need to contact my lawyer… I can’t talk to you until I talk to my lawyer.”
Police said Tavera also had two traffic warrants.
