“At first, they thought it was an animal but then they noticed toilet paper and other wipes – items animals would not have access to,” police said.

NATICK – At least eight times since early December, the owner of the Natick Outdoor Store made an unpleasant discovery when he arrived at work - a pile of human feces.

On Wednesday, Natick Police arrested Andrea F. Grocer, 51, of Ashland, in the parking lot of the store at 38 North Ave. where they found her getting ready to use it as a toilet once again, authorities said.

“I’m so happy they arrested her,” said Natick Outdoor Store owner Henry Kanner. “I have no idea who she is. This has been ongoing. She has defecated quite often over here. There’s nothing more disgusting coming into your parking lot in the morning and seeing a pile of human excrement.”

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Grocer's lawyer described her as a "pillar of the community" and said she works full time, during her arraignment in Natick District Court on Wednesday.

Police spokeswoman Lt. Cara Rossi said police began investigating the incidents last month after Kanner reported repeatedly finding the feces in his parking lot.

“At first, they thought it was an animal but then they noticed toilet paper and other wipes – items animals would not have access to,” Rossi said.

The incidents were caught on camera, but the vehicle's license plate hadn't been captured in the scene. Rossi said police had been doing extra patrols at the store in an effort to identify the excrement vandal. They caught Grocer in the parking lot at 6:51 a.m., police said.

Both Rossi and Kanner said they have no idea why Grocer would defecate in the lot. Kanner said he does not know her and does not know of any connection to him or his store.

“I can’t figure out why anyone would do that,” Kanner said.

Police charged Grocer, of 20 Blue Jay Lane, with eight counts of wanton destruction of property.

Grocer was released without bail after her Natick District Court arraignment on Wednesday. She is due back in court on March 2 for a pretrial conference.

UPDATE: This story was updated to add information from Grocer's arraignment hearing.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date crime news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.