Suspect in tax-service heist to be arraigned

A Toledo woman is to be arraigned Tuesday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court for a charge related to the holdup of a tax-service agency with what was later discovered to be a curling iron.

Sonia Watson, 41, of 1617 Macomber St. was indicted by the grand jury on one count of robbery. She could be sentenced to up to eight years in prison if convicted.

Watson is accused of entering Liberty Tax Service, 3365 Monroe St., just minutes before its 7 p.m. closing time Jan. 26 with a male accomplice, and demanding money while holding a curling iron wrapped in a washcloth. Though store employees did not comply with their demands, police said Watson grabbed $280 from a cash drawer before the pair fled.

Watson became a suspect after one of the Liberty Tax employees recognized her from days before when her taxes were prepared by the agency.

She was chased from the store by an employee dressed as the Statue of Liberty as part of a store promotion but was not caught at the time.