Should a persons age have a bearing on an arrest? how young is too young and how old is too old?

This woman had worked for a shoe manufacturer for about 60 years. for years, she was suspected of stealing expensive shoes from her employer. a trap was set for her, at the employers request, to catch this person stealing the company’s shoes. she was observed bringing in lunch for her group of employees in metal pots and pans. after lunch, she would leave early, taking the pots and pans with her. i suspected she was stealing the shoes and leaving the building with the stolen shoes inside the pots and pans. security never checked her, since she was a long time employee. i secured a search warrant for her home. stolen shoes were located everywhere inside her home. even her garage contained stolen shoes that were on display on shelves and a price tag on each. i arrested this woman and the shoes recovered. she was age 84 and gave a full confession. here was the problem: her employer did not want her to go to prision. instead, she lost her pension and medical coverage. just because of her older age, should this woman have gone to prison or was her punishment sever enough? total value of shoes recoverd was about $120,000 dollars.