SHEFFIELD LAKE — Just hours after photos were released to the media yesterday, a pregnant Elyria woman turned herself into police and admitted she had stolen a purse and used the credit cards in it on a shopping spree, according to police.

Sheffield Lake police Capt. Tony Campo said the woman, who is from Elyria, is 20 years old and is overdue to give birth, came to the police station about 3:30 p.m. and told officers that she “saw her pictures in the newspapers’ ” websites.”

Campo said yesterday that a purse had been stolen Monday from a car parked at Lakewood Beach park. Credit cards from the purse were used later that night to wrack up more than $200 in purchases at Super Wal-Mart in Elyria, and the woman, along with a man and her two young children, were caught on security cameras.

Campo said that he didn’t arrest the woman when she turned herself in due to the fact that she was so close to giving birth.

He said charges will “absolutely” follow, and he expects the charges to be forgery and theft, but he added “it will be up to the grand jury.”

Campo said the woman was “very cooperative” and he expects she will continue to cooperate, adding that he knows where to find her and that she had family local.

Campo said the woman didn’t give any reason for her crimes other than saying that she had made a “dumb mistake.”

He’s just happy for the quick resolution.

“The media worked,” he said. “At this time yesterday, we didn’t have any idea who this woman was.”

Campo said the man who was with the woman in security photos didn’t have anything to do with the crime.