WOMAN CHARGED WITH TRYING TO STEAL CAR WITH TWO KIDS INSIDE

New London — A woman was charged with robbing another woman and attempting to steal her vehicle while her baby and toddler were inside it Thursday in a parking lot, according to police.

The woman was parked in the Family Dollar parking lot at 48 Ocean Ave. about 2:25 p.m. with her 9-month-old and 14-month-old children in the backseat when Lauren Curtis, 29, of Niantic got into the car and demanded her money and her car. The woman immediately handed over her purse and Curtis ran off, New London police said.

Curtis is a convicted felon who was out on bond, court records show.

She was most recently arrested two months ago, on Nov. 7, and charged with violation of probation relating to a second-degree robbery charge from 2012. She was released on a $15,000 surety bond, records show. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the robbery conviction.

Curtis was arrested two other times in 2012 by Hamden police and charged with third-degree forgery, sixth-degree larceny and third-degree burglary for which she was sentenced to five years in prison, records show.

In 2013, she was found guilty of first-degree robbery, illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle and second-degree larceny for which she was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

After Thursday’s incident, police say they found Curtis on Orchard Street with two knives in her possession. She was charged with first-degree robbery, attempted carjacking, first-degree reckless endangerment and carrying a dangerous weapon.

She was being held on a $500,000 bond, according to court records.