Arrest of accused identity thief ends #GurlCallMe saga, for now

First, she became internet famous thanks to a sassy viral Facebook post in April after police said she stole a Southlake woman’s identity in order to open a slew of retail credit cards.

Then, after Plano police tracked her down, she managed to get herself “un-arrested” in May.

But now Crystal Ladawn Finley, who turned 34 on July 30, is in a place that should be familiar to her: Henderson County Jail.

She was arrested in Gun Barrel City and booked into the jail late Thursday, marking the ninth time she’s been incarcerated there in the past 13 years. Her offenses have included possession of a controlled substance, possession of brass knuckles, driving with an invalid license and failing to identify as a fugitive.

Gun Barrel City police did not immediately reply to a request for a comment about her latest arrest.

Finley has felony warrants related to identity theft in Southlake, Tarrant County and Grand Prairie, said Southlake Department of Public Safety spokesman Brad Uptmore.

“I’m just glad to finally close the book on her,” Uptmore said Friday.

Southlake DPS roughly tripled its social media following in April, Uptmore said, with a cheeky post about Finley that read in part: “We’ve obvi been looking all over for you! Luckily, the loss prevention guys prevented you from getting too much property, amiright [sic]?

“We have the warrant and we’re letting all of our besties know what you’ve been up to. You’re welcome to reach out to Detective Ellis, who is working this case at jdellis@ci.southlake.tx.us and he will totes [sic] fill you in. Gurl, CALL ME.”

The post also pointed out that she was “very pregnant.”

But when she was arrested in Plano in early May — reportedly telling her arresting officers, “I don’t know what you’ve been reading on Facebook, but that ain’t me” — her pregnancy helped her avoid being jailed.

Police said Finley complained of a medical emergency related to her pregnancy, then refused medical treatment at a hospital but couldn’t legally be admitted to several local jails because they lacked the medical resources to treat her.

Plano police spokesman David Tilley said at the time, “The decision was made that since she wasn’t a violent offender and since she wasn’t a flight risk from the DFW area, the decision was made to release her and activate her warrants again.”

Uptmore said he heard at least two months ago that Finley had had her baby, but he had no further information about the child.

This story was originally published August 3, 2018 at 12:58 PM.