Photos Released of Shoplifting Suspect

Suspect Left With $2,000 Dress

Montgomery County police released surveillance photos Tuesday of a broad-shouldered shoplifting suspect who they said left Saks Fifth Avenue with a $2,000 Chanel dress and could have been a man masquerading as a woman.

The photographs purport to show the shoplifter, bag slung over shoulder, walking through the Saks at 5555 Wisconsin Ave. about 8 p.m. Thursday. The suspect took the dress off a rack and slipped it into a large bag, according to police. When a security officer tried to intervene, the suspect sprayed the guard in the eyes with pepper spray and was last seen running southbound on Wisconsin toward the Friendship Heights Metro station, according to authorities.

A police description of the shoplifter is gender-neutral: "A black man or woman, in his/her 20's, 6' tall, weighing 160 to 190 pounds. His/her long black hair was worn in thin braids and pulled back. The suspect was wearing a black and white, checked very short mini-dress with long sleeves and a wide belt at the waist. The shoes worn by the suspect were flat sandals."

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call police at 240-773-6330 or 301-279-8000.