Woman charged with attempted theft from police party

Upper Darby police had an uninvited guest at their Christmas party, and she ended up getting arrested.

Officers from the bicycle patrol unit and their wives were waiting for a table at Ruth's Chris Steak House in Center City on Sunday night when Sgt. Jim Reif noticed a patron sticking her hand into someone else's purse.

"The next thing I hear is, 'You are locked up,' " said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael J. Chitwood, who was seated nearby. "Her hand was right in the handbag."

Gwendolyn Jordan, 46, of the 1600 block of Manton Street in Philadelphia, was "shocked" to find herself surrounded by about eight police officers, Chitwood said.

Philadelphia police made the arrest, and charged her with theft and related crimes. Jordan uses nine birth dates and 31 aliases, and has a 97-page criminal record with 59 arrests.

"She went to the wrong Christmas party," Chitwood said.