The Stanley drinking cup craze has landed a 23-year-old woman in hot water after police say they found 65 allegedly stolen stainless-steel cups, valued at nearly $2,500 total, in her vehicle.
The alleged crime took place on Jan. 17 in Roseville, CA, about 20 miles northeast of Sacramento, where a woman was stopped by authorities with Stanley merchandise overflowing from her vehicle's passenger seat and trunk, according to the Roseville Police Department.
In a Facebook post Sunday, authorities said they responded to a report of a theft at a retail store on the 6000 block of Stanford Ranch Road.
The store's staff allegedly "saw a woman take a shopping cart full of Stanley water bottles without paying for them. The suspect refused to stop for staff and stuffed her car with the stolen merchandise," the post said.
MORE: Shoppers clamor for limited-edition Stanley cups selling out at TargetAn officer spotted the suspect's vehicle when it entered a nearby highway and initiated a traffic stop and searched the car, according to police. Inside the suspect's vehicle, the officer recovered a total of "65 Stanley products" in various sizes and styles "valued at nearly $2,500," police said.
The unidentified suspect was arrested for grand theft, according to police.
Police also shared photos of the alleged stolen merchandise that was recovered from the vehicle, with dozens of Stanley drinking containers arrayed on a police car hood and front bumper, and also piled in a vehicle's trunk and in the foot of the front passenger seat.
While the Stanley brand has been active since 1913, the stainless steel reusable water bottles have received viral attention on social media recently, while its 40-ounce Quencher cup — and accompanying limited-edition styles and colors — has garnered a cult-like following in the U.S. and globally.
Nodding to the Stanley brand's current viral popularity, Roseville police advised, "While Stanley Quenchers are all the rage, we strongly advise against turning to crime to fulfill your hydration habits."
