SANTA ANA – A 37-year-old homeless woman was arrested Monday night after she threatened sporting-goods store employees with a field hockey stick and paintball grenade while wearing a hockey mask.

Police said she was upset because she was not allowed to leave with two carts of merchandise without paying.

Michele Renee Lara began shopping around 6:30 p.m. at the Sports Authority, 3900 South Bristol St., and spent about three hours filling two shopping carts with various types of sporting goods merchandise, Cmdr. Jeffrey Smith of the Santa Ana Police Department said.

Lara reportedly also began wearing some of the merchandise and stuffed goods into backpacks that she also put inside the two shopping carts.

Around 9:30 p.m., Lara attempted to leave the store without paying for the merchandise, Smith said.

Officials said several employees stopped her from leaving, which prompted her to run to the back of the store, put on a hockey mask and grab a field hockey stick, which she used to threaten employees.

“She also grabs a paint ball grenade, lobs it at the employees, and it doesn’t do anything,” Smith said.

The paintball grenade did not explode and employees were not hit with the stick, but when Lara’s efforts failed to get her out of the building, she ran again to the back of the store and got on a bicycle, Smith said.

Lara attempted to ride the bike out of the store, but crashed before she could make it to the door.

Santa Ana police arrived and arrested Lara on suspicion of robbery, because “she tried to use fear or force to try to leave the store,” Smith said.

No employees were injured in the incident.

Lara was booked into Orange County jail where she was held in lieu of $50,000 bail. She was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, according to jail records.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7802 or aduranty@ocregister.com