Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, of Danbury, Connecticut, were arrested on Nov. 21 in Minnesota, KSTP reports. The couple faces one count on the recently introduced charge of organized retail theft, which could put them in prison for 15 years.
The arrests followed their involvement in an alleged theft at a Lululemon store in Rosedale Center the previous day. A Lululemon retail crime investigator alerted local authorities after the couple and a third individual allegedly stole nearly $5,000 worth of merchandise from the same store.
According to a criminal complaint, the couple was initially stopped when the security alarm sounded as they exited the Rosedale location. Richards accused the employees of racially profiling him and claimed they purposely triggered the alarm. The group was allowed to leave, and the alarm did not sound during their second exit.
Later, the Lululemon investigator located Richards and Lawes-Richards at the Woodbury store, where Woodbury police took them into custody. The couple denied being at the Rosedale location the previous day and claimed they were staying with an aunt. However, Richards, who declined to speak with authorities, was found carrying a key card for the JW Marriott Hotel in Bloomington.
Investigators confirmed that Richards had booked a room at the JW Marriott and secured a search warrant for the room registered in his name. Inside, they discovered 12 suitcases filled with Lululemon clothing, valued at approximately $50,000, all with the tags still attached. The Lululemon investigator alleged that the couple had made two prior trips to Minnesota in September, where they stole approximately $30,000 worth of merchandise. On Nov. 13 alone, the investigator tracked thefts at five different metro locations: two in Edina and one each in Minneapolis, Minnetonka, and Roseville.
The couple is accused of orchestrating a sophisticated retail theft operation, stealing items from stores nationwide and returning them to East Coast locations to receive the value of the stolen goods as refunds on a credit or debit card. To pull off the scheme, Richards would typically purchase a few inexpensive items at the counter while Lawes-Richards and other accomplices secretly stuffed stolen merchandise into their clothing.
After cashiers removed the security tags from the legitimately purchased items, the group allegedly used a device to detach a sensor from one of the stolen goods and reattach it to one of Richards’ purchased items. When the group exited the store and triggered the alarm, Richards would stop and return to the counter while the others walked away. Store employees, believing it was a false alarm, would remove the reattached security tag.
Later, the group would return
to the East Coast to allegedly carry out fraudulent exchanges, swapping the stolen goods for more expensive items and paying a small balance with a credit card to cover the price difference. Once the new items were linked to a receipt and credit card, they would return them for a full refund, which was credited back to the card, effectively laundering the value of the stolen merchandise.Richards and Lawes-Richards are accused of returning nearly $500,000 worth of stolen merchandise, with the company estimating its total financial impact to be closer to $1 million. The couple had their first court appearances on Nov. 25, and their next hearing is set for Dec. 16.
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