Authorities have arrested a woman accused of repeatedly punching a store employee who confronted her for alleged shoplifting.

Twenty-one-year-old Jhamilla McKenzie of Youngstown was booked into the county jail Sunday for theft and assault charges.

The charges stem from an alleged incident on October 28 that started inside a store at 4026 Market Street.

Police say security detectors were activated when a woman left the store without paying for the items.

An employee says that when he followed the woman outside demanding, she punched him in the face three times.

The suspect returned two pairs of earrings worth about two dollars each and continued walking toward Youngstown.

Police say they later found nearly $200 worth of other items believed to have been stolen from the store discarded on Youngstown’s South Side.