Investigators used surveillance footage and information from a resale transaction before felony charges were filed more than two months after the incident.
INDIANAPOLIS — Surveillance video, vehicle information and identification provided during a children’s clothing resale transaction helped Indianapolis investigators identify a woman now facing felony charges over an alleged gun threat inside a store, according to accounts of the police investigation and court records.
Tamya Staten, 21, was charged Sept. 29 with intimidation with a deadly weapon and pointing a firearm at another person. The charges followed an investigation into a July 16 confrontation at a Once Upon A Child store on West 86th Street, where employees said a disagreement over a toddler using store merchandise escalated into an armed threat.
Police were called to the business after an employee activated a silent holdup alarm. By the time officers arrived, the woman accused of making the threats had left with her child. Investigators then turned to information already available inside the store and footage recorded by its security system.
According to reports describing the investigation, Staten had entered the business to sell clothing. Once Upon A Child stores buy used children’s clothing and other merchandise directly from customers, a process that can involve collecting information from sellers. Authorities said identification Staten had provided to employees became one of the pieces of information used during the investigation.
Surveillance footage also showed the confrontation and captured information from the vehicle used to leave the store, investigators said. Police connected the vehicle information with the customer information provided during the resale visit, allowing detectives to identify Staten as the woman accused in the encounter.
The confrontation itself began after Staten’s toddler started using a small motorized ride-on toy inside the store, according to the allegations. An employee told Staten that store policy did not allow children to play with the merchandise. Authorities say the child continued using the toy after that warning and an additional exchange followed.
An employee told investigators that Staten produced a handgun during the dispute and made threats. Court records described in local reports say she eventually pointed the weapon toward employees. No gunfire or injuries were reported. Staten then allegedly put the gun away, collected her child and left the store.
The security footage became significant not only because investigators said it documented parts of the encounter, but also because it provided evidence connected to the suspect’s departure. Combined with the information supplied during the attempted clothing sale, the records gave investigators multiple ways to work toward an identification after the woman was no longer at the scene.
More than two months passed between the July incident and the filing of charges in Marion Superior Court 31. Prosecutors charged Staten with a Level 5 felony count of intimidation with a deadly weapon and a Level 6 felony count of pointing a firearm at another person. The allegations have not been proven in court.
An arrest warrant was issued after the charges were filed. Available reporting did not indicate that Staten had entered a plea in the case or identify an attorney representing her on the new charges.
Author note: Last updated October 1, 2026.