Pair arrested in Lululemon theft ring stole nearly $1 million across the US, cops say

A couple arrested in a nationwide Lululemon theft ring caused nearly $1 million in losses to the popular high-end athletic retailer, Minnesota authorities say.

The pair, Jadion Anthony Richards and Akwele Nickeisha Lawes-Richards, were arrested Nov. 14 at a Lululemon in Woodbury, Minnesota, the same day they denied shoplifting from a store in nearby Roseville, according to a criminal complaint.

In the Roseville incident, the pair set off an alarm when they tried exiting the store, police said. Richards said he was being racially profiled, and the couple was allowed to leave the Roseville store, this time without the alarm sounding.

The responding officer was unaware Lawes-Richards, Richards and an unidentified man already stole 45 items totaling nearly $5,000 from the Roseville location, the complaint said.

“The couple later commit(ed) fraudulent returns with the stolen items at different Lululemon stores,” police said.

When they arrested the couple in Woodbury, police learned they had 12 suitcases inside their JW Marriott hotel in Bloomington, according to the complaint. Each of those suitcases, police said, contained Lululemon merchandise that totaled more than $50,000.

Police said the couple is “responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in loss to the store across the country,” later indicating in the complaint the theft “is closer to $1 million.”

“The group worked together using specific organized retail crime tactics such as blocking and distraction of associates to commit large thefts,” police said. “They selected coats and jackets and held them up as if they were looking at them in a manner that blocked the view of staff and other guests while they selected and concealed items. They removed security sensors using a tool of some sort at multiple stores.”

Richards would purchase “one or two cheap items,” then he and Lawes-Richard would remove a security sensor from an item they did not purchase, authorities said. They put the sensor onto an already-purchased item.

Lawes-Richards concealed items under her clothing before the couple left the store together, according to the complaint.

“In most cases ... the sensors at the stores would beep. Richards would immediately stop, turn back toward staff, and offer the bag with his purchased items,” police said. “Meanwhile, the women continued to walk away without even turning around. Staff would inspect Richards’ purchased item and remove the sensor the thieves had placed on the item. Richards then left. Staff did not attempt to stop Lawes-Richards or the other woman thinking that Richards’s sensor had been the culprit item that set the sensors off.”

During their scheme, they would hit multiple Lululemon stores for two days, then return to the East Coast to return stolen merchandise in exchange for money, police said.

According to the complaint, the couple executed their scheme in New York, Connecticut, Utah, Colorado and Minnesota.

They were charged with organized retail theft, court records show.

This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 2:42 PM with the headline "Pair arrested in Lululemon theft ring stole nearly $1 million across the US, cops say."