melissa r. barnes.jpg

Melissa R. Barnes has been charged with allegedly stealing candles and air fresheners from Cracker Barrel in Pennsville.

(PVPD)

PENNSVILLE TWP. — Police say they've snuffed out a woman's Cracker Barrel candle-snatching spree.

Melissa R. Barnes, 37, of Penns Grove was arrested Wednesday around 9:45 p.m. and charged with six counts of theft from the restaurant, said Pennsville Chief of Police Allen J. Cummings.

According to police, Barnes allegedly stole $750 worth of merchandise — mostly Yankee candles along with some car air fresheners — in six trips to the gift shop in the local Cracker Barrel restaurant between April and this month.

The eatery is located on North Broadway adjacent to Interstate 295 near the base of the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

Cummings said members of the public who saw news accounts about the thefts and the suspect's photo taken from a store surveillance camera pointed police to Barnes.

"I would like to thank the public for identifying Ms. Barnes from the picture and passing it on to the police," Cummings said Thursday.

Police also believe that Barnes could be connected to similar thefts in Cracker Barrels in Elkton and Bel Air, Md., as well as in Mount Laurel and Mount Holly, in Burlington County.

Barnes was processed at Pennsville Police Department Headquarters and then remanded to the Salem County Correctional Facility, Mannington Township, on $25,000 bail.

Contact South Edition Editor Bill Gallo Jr. at 856-935-1500 ext. 432 or bgallo@southjerseymedia.com

