Pensacola woman said she was robbed of $4,500 in employer’s money. Police found it in her purse.

Pensacola woman said she was robbed of $4,500 in employer’s money. Police found it in her purse.

A Pensacola woman working at a Family Dollar store there told police she had been robbed of two store deposits totaling more than $4,500.

Investigators recovered the stolen money — in the woman’s purse.

According to the Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office, 50-year-old Marcella House told deputies Saturday she had been robbed by someone impersonating a law enforcement officer as she was on her way to make a bank deposit, even going so far as to provide a description of the “suspect.”

But deputies, apparently unconvinced of House’s story, were given consent to search her vehicle and backpack and found a Regions Bank bag with two Family Dollar deposits inside totaling $4,541, according to a report by WEAR in Pensacola.

House told deputies she was making the deposits for her manager and gave a phone number to contact the manager. When they called the number, however, deputies found it went straight to voicemail.

As it turned out, the number had once been House’s own number.

Deputies finally tracked down the Family Dollar manager, who confirmed with the bank Saturday’s deposits had already been made before House reported them stolen.

House was booked into the Escambia County Jail, charged with larceny/grand theft and making a false report to law enforcement. She was later released after posting $6,000 bail.