A Connecticut couple is accused of allegedly taking part in a complex retail theft operation targeting apparel company Lululemon that may have involved $1 million worth of stolen merchandise, according to a criminal complaint.
The couple, 44-year-old Jadian Anthony Richards and 45-year-old Akwele Nikeisha Laws-Richards, were arrested on November 14 in Woodbury, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Ramsey County Attorney's Office said Richards and Laws-Richards have been charged with one count each of organized retail theft, a felony. He is from Danbury, Connecticut.
The alleged operation affected Lululemon stores in several states, including Minnesota.
A spokesperson for the attorney's office said in a statement, “Due to the excellent work of Roseville police investigators – including their new Retail Crimes Unit as well as other law enforcement agencies, these men accused of this massive retail theft were brought to justice.” The persons have been apprehended.” Statement on 18 November. “We will do everything in our power to hold these defendants accountable and continue to work with our law enforcement partners and retailers to prevent retail theft in our community.”
According to the county attorney, both Richards and Laws-Richards have posted bond by Sunday and have agreed to the terms of their court-ordered conditional release. For Richards, the court set bail at $100,000 with conditional release or $600,000 with unconditional release, including weekly check-ins. For Laws-Richards, bail was set at $30,000 with conditional release and weekly check-ins or $200,000 with unconditional release. He is scheduled to appear in court again on December 16.
Prosecutors had asked for each half of the couple to post $1 million bond, the attorney's office said.
Richards and Laws-Richards have been accused by authorities of carrying out a complex retail theft scheme dating back to at least September. Their joint arrest came a day after the couple allegedly set off the store alarm while trying to leave Lululemon in Roseville, Minnesota, and an organized retail crime investigator, identified in charging documents by the initials RP , recognized them.
The couple were allowed to leave the Roseville store. But investigators later told an officer responding to the incident that Richards and Laws-Richards were experienced shoppers who apparently stole approximately $5,000 worth of Lululemon items that day and potentially caused “hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.” Were responsible for.” Stores nationwide,” according to the complaint. The number was eventually estimated by an investigator to be even higher for the brand, as much as $1 million, according to the criminal complaint.
Richards and Laws-Richards allegedly involved other individuals in their shoplifting, but no one was identified by name in the complaint. Authorities said they were able to successfully carry out the theft by distracting store employees and later making fraudulent purchases with the stolen items at various Lululemon stores.
“Between October 29, 2024, and October 30, 2024, RP documented eight burglaries in Colorado involving Richards and Laws-Richards and an unidentified female,” authorities wrote in the complaint.
“The group worked together using typical organized retail crime tactics, such as restraining and distracting associates, to commit large thefts,” the complaint states. “They selected coats and jackets and held them up as if they were looking at them in such a way that the view of employees and other guests was blocked while they selected and hid the items. They also shopped at several stores. Removed security sensors using some type of tool.”
CBS News contacted Lululemon for comment but did not immediately receive a response.