Suspect in exotic bird theft from Menifee store apprehended

Operating off a tip provided through social media, Sheriff's deputies on Friday apprehended the woman who stole an expensive exotic bird from a Menifee store -- and found the bird unharmed.

Police had been investigating the case since Tuesday, when a woman accompanied by two children was seen on store surveillance video stealing a 6-week-old blue ringneck parrot from Birds-N-Paradise, located at 27620 Encanto Drive. The bird, valued at $475, had been purchased as a gift for a young girl and was due to be picked up after it had passed the hand-feeding stage.

Store owner Lori Lister posted screen shots and a portion of the surveillance video on the store's Facebook page, and the woman's image was widely spread on social media. Lister told Menifee 24/7 that on Friday, she received a Facebook message from someone, listing the woman's name and showing pictures of her and the two children.

"I started screaming, "That's them; that's them!" Lister said. "I called the police right away. A few hours later they were at her house, getting the bird."

Operating on the tip and after acquiring additional evidence on numerous databases, Officer Dan Brown and members of the Menifee Police Burglary Supression Team positively identified Harmony Marie Mejia, 38, of Perris as the suspect. They arrived at her residence in the 3900 block of Strand Way in Perris in an attempt to interview her, according to a Sheriff's Department report.

When Mejia's husband opened the door, officers learned Mejia had seen them approaching and had fled to another part of the house to hide. Upon finding her, officers discovered Mejia had ingested a large quanitity of prescription medication. She was transported to a hospital for treatment.

Mejia was not arrested at the time, police said, but the case will be forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for prosecution. Possible charges include commercial burglary and petty theft, according to the news release.

Brown located the stolen bird in the house and discovered it was unharmed. The bird was returned to store employees, who will eventually deliver it to the family that purchased it.

This was the second crime committed at Birds-N-Paradise in less than a week. On March 16, thieves stole six valuable birds from the store during a 2 a.m. break-in. That case remains under investigation.