A Connecticut couple is accused of participating in a complex retail theft operation targeting apparel company Lululemon, with potentially $1 million worth of stolen merchandise, according to a criminal complaint. be.
Couple Jadion Anthony Richards, 44, and Akwele Nikkeisha Laws Richards, 45, were arrested on November 14 in Woodbury, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis and St. Louis). pole. Richards and Rose Richards were each charged with one count of organized retail theft, a felony, according to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. They are from Danbury, Connecticut.
The alleged operation affected Lululemon stores in multiple states, including Minnesota.
“Thanks to the excellent work of Roseville Police Department investigators (including the newly created Retail Crimes Unit) and other law enforcement agencies, these individuals charged in this major retail theft case were arrested.” A spokesperson for the law firm said. “We are committed to holding these defendants accountable and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and retailers to stop retail theft in our communities,” the company said in a Nov. 18 statement.
As of Sunday, Richards and Rose Richards had posted bail and agreed to the terms of a court-ordered conditional release, the county attorney said. The court had set Richards’ bail at $100,000 with conditions including weekly check-ins, and $600,000 with unconditional release. Rose Richards’ bail was set at $30,000 for conditional release and weekly check-ins, and $200,000 for unconditional release. The two are scheduled to appear in court again on December 16th.
Prosecutors had asked each half of the couple to be held on $1 million bail, the attorney’s office announced.
Mr. Richards and Rose Richards are accused by authorities of orchestrating a complex retail theft scheme dating back to at least September. Their joint arrest came after the couple allegedly set off the store’s alarm as they were leaving Lululemon in Roseville, Minn. Organized retail crime investigators, identified in the indictment by their initials RP, arrested the pair. This was done the day after it was recognized.
The couple was allowed to leave the Roseville store. However, investigators later told police officers who responded to the incident that Richards and Rose Richards were seasoned shoplifters who had apparently stolen $5,000 worth of Lululemon merchandise that day alone, potentially causing “police… “I am responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.” “We have stores nationwide,” the complaint states. In the end, investigators estimated the brand’s value even higher, reaching as much as $1 million, according to the criminal complaint.
Richards and Rose Richards are said to have had other people involved in the shoplifting pursuit, but none are named in the complaint. Authorities said they were able to successfully complete the theft by distracting a store employee and then fraudulently returning stolen merchandise at another Lululemon store.
“Between October 29, 2024 and October 30, 2024, RP committed eight thefts in Colorado involving Mr. Richards, Rose Richards, and an unidentified woman,” authorities said in the complaint. “I recorded it,” he said, giving an example of how the operation would unfold.
“This group worked together to commit grand thefts using certain organized retail crime tactics, including obstructing and distracting employees,” the complaint states. “They selected coats and jackets and held them up in a way that seemed to block the view of staff and other customers, and selected items to hide. Security sensors were removed using some type of tool in several stores. “
CBS News reached out to Lululemon for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
