This weekend brought a dark chapter to the Miss El Paso USA history books, as 21-year-old Lorena Tavera — who, as Miss El Paso USA 2008, was just five heartbeats away from the Miss Texas USA crown — was arrested on Friday for shoplifting a $69 blouse from a Dillard's department store.

Approached for comment by KTSM News Channel 9, Tavera had this to say:

"I'm going to contact my lawyer. This story can't be run. The story is wrong first of all. It's been misconstrued and it's twisted, so I need to contact my lawyer... I can't talk to you until I talk to my lawyer.

Tavera, who also has two outstanding traffic warrants, is out on $300 bond. I tried to find some footage of Tavera during one of her many pageant appearances, but turned up short. [KTSM, mugshot via KTSM]