Roanoke police arrest door-to-door saleswoman for having no business license

By Scott Leamon
WSLS10 Reporter
Published: May 16, 2008

Roanoke police arrested a woman in the Crystal Springs neighborhood for selling magazines door-to-door without a business license.

Police charged Christina Smalls-Smith, 24, with solicitation without a business license, a misdemeanor.

Police at the scene of her arrest said she claimed to be from Florida but had no identification.

A woman, whom declined to be identified, told 10 On Your Side Smalls-Smith and another woman came into her home uninvited Friday afternoon.

The woman confirmed Smalls-Smith was trying to sell magazines.

“[Smalls-Smith] said ‘may I use your bathroom?” the woman recalled later. “And I thought, ‘oh dear! I’m in trouble.”

The woman said she heard Smalls-Smith in another area of her home for what seemed like several minutes, so went to check on her.

The woman said by the time she got to the room, Smalls-Smith had just entered her bathroom.

A short time later the woman said the two salespeople left her home.

“As soon as they walked out the door I said ‘oh my goodness! Why did [Smalls-Smith] go through my house?” the woman said.

“I ran for my pocket book immediately,” the woman said, which she claimed was in her bedroom near the bathroom.

“My wallet was gone so I went into hysterics,” she said.

The woman said she later found her wallet in the bathroom under a hand towel “on top of the soap dish.”

The woman claimed she did not know how her wallet got from her purse to the bathroom.

After the salespeople left the home, the woman said her grandson, whom also lives in the home, went after the women and found them a few blocks down the street.

The woman called 911.

An officer at the scene said police searched both salespeople and did not find any of the woman’s belongings.

The officer said police also investigated to see if the salespeople might have taken some the woman’s personal information, such as credit card numbers, but could find no evidence of any such activity.

A police spokeswoman said later citizens should be skeptical of most door-to-door sales tactics.

Police at the scene said the sales company Smalls-Smith claimed to represent did not have a license to do business in Roanoke.