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Woman, 82, Suspected Of Burglary; Rap Sheet Dates Back To 1955

TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) — An 82-year-old woman with a rap sheet dating back to 1955 has been arrested on suspicion of burglarizing at least eight doctors' offices throughout Torrance.

Doris Thompson was arrested Thursday after detectives tracked her down at a motel in El Segundo, the Torrance Daily Breeze reported.

Police believe Thompson visited doctors' offices and hid inside until workers went home for the night. When the coast was clear, she would come out of hiding, search for keys, open lock boxes and remove cash, police told the newspaper. She's believed to have stolen $17,000 from eight burglaries since March.

Rachel Kim, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, spoke to Sgt. Steven Jenkinson of the Torrance Police Department. "We got crime reports regarding missing cash from offices."

Police looked at several surveillance videos and said they recognized the active Thompson immediately.

Thompson has a 21-page rap sheet that includes arrests from 1955 for disturbing the peace, burglary, forgery and grand theft from Los Angeles to the South Bay to Beverly Hills, according to the Daily Breeze. She was arrested in connection with a homicide in 1957, but was deemed insane and committed to a hospital.

The octogenarian previously pleaded guilty two years ago for similar burglaries, and reportedly asked if she would be serving the entire three years of her sentence. Thompson was released on parole in November.

According to the newspaper, she reportedly told detectives at her sentencing that she "wouldn't do all this nonsense if the government gave us more money."

Kim reported that Thompson served time in state prison nine times and has 25 known aliases.

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