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Infamous 86-year-old jewelry thief arrested after missing court hearing

In this Jan. 11, 2016, file photo, Doris Payne speaks during an interview in Atlanta. Payne, an 86-year-old infamous jewel thief, is wanted for missing court. 

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Doris Payne, the international jewel thief who's stolen about $2 million worth over the last six decades, and who is also a suspect in a jewelry heist at a SouthPark mall store, was arrested after she failed to appear for a court hearing last week.

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The Dekalb County Sheriff's Office arrested the 86-year-old Monday at her home in Atlanta and took her to jail.

Payne told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week that she wasn’t able to go because of health issues.

"I ain’t runnin’," she said in a phone interview. "Medically, I was not able to go."

She’s been dealing with severe pain, trouble with balance and draining tests related to a lump in her neck.

"It might be cancerous. It may not," she said.

Payne's hearing was related to a theft charge from a December arrest at Atlanta's Perimeter Mall. She said she's trying to get paperwork to show her condition, but it hasn't come through yet.

Last month, she was deemed too ill to stand trial by the judge presiding over a Fulton County case stemming from a missing set of Christian Dior earrings at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta.

Payne has been open about her habits of theft, which she detailed in a documentary called "The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne."

Payne said she is not afraid of court. She has much experience standing before judges.

"I’ve never in my life been late for court," she said. "I assure you, everything was done that could be done."

Over the decades, she has developed a pattern of short sentences, getting out for good behavior and then stealing again.

Payne is wanted in North Carolina after Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said she stole a $33,000 David Yurman engagment ring at SouthPark Mall in July 2015. She still has not been arrested in connection with that incident, police said.

Her current condition is a new challenge, one that’s kept her down recently, with sometimes intense pain that she says makes her feel like she’s dying, and confusion over what the cause might be.

Doctors are so far "baffled" by the lump’s behavior. Payne said the pain comes and goes, and the fact that it dissipates often gives her hope that it isn’t cancer.

"I ain’t cryin’," she said. "I'm just doing the best I can."

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