'Peek-a-boo': California police catch alleged shoplifter hiding in car trunk

(KTLA) -- A California woman suspected of shoplifting tried to hide from police but was quickly caught in the trunk of a car with stolen merchandise, authorities said.

According to the Irvine Police Department, officers were alerted to a shoplifting incident at the Sephora located in the Irvine Spectrum Center on Wednesday.

The department said loss prevention employees tried to stop the suspect -- but she refused and ran to the parking lot, where they lost her.

Officers had trouble locating the woman, who allegedly walked out of the beauty-product store with stolen items, until a citizen pointed the police in the direction of a Tesla.

After several knocks and announcements, officers opened the trunk of the white car.

"Peek-a-boo," the police department wrote in a statement posted on Instagram.

Inside the trunk, they found the woman along with $600 of stolen Sephora products and $250 of stolen Lululemon goods.

Later identified as Emely Yanagida, 35 of San Marcos, the woman was arrested on suspicion of possessing burglary tools, resisting arrest and shoplifting.