KEITH WHITCOMB JR.

Staff Writer

BENNINGTON -- A Gage Street teen is facing a felony embezzlement charge over allegedly trying to take $36 in clothing from a store she had been working at for two days, having been placed there through a Vermont Department of Labor program.

Kayla Vosburgh, 19, pleaded not guilty Monday to embezzlement, and petit larceny charges, and was released on conditions she not to go Label Shopper in Bennington.

According to an affidavit by Bennington Police Sgt. David Dutcher, on Jan. 24 he went to Label Shopper and spoke to the manager, Barbara Barber, who said Vosburgh was an employment trainee placed there by the Department of Labor the day before. Barber said she became suspicious when she saw Vosburgh leave a dressing room area where she was not supposed to be. Barber told police the store also has a policy to check the bags of all employees before they leave.

Barber said Vosburgh let her look through her purse and in it she found a pair of slippers, two bras, and thong underwear. The total value of the items was $36. Barber told police that Vosburgh's purse contained the price tags for the slippers and she found the other items tags in other parts of the store. Barber said that Vosburgh claimed the items belonged to her and they were bought for her by her mother.

Dutcher said he asked Vosburgh about the matter and she told him she is a regular shopper at the store. According to Dutcher, he spoke to Vosburgh's mother who had no knowledge of having purchased the items, while Barber said she had not seen Vosburgh in the store until she came to work there.