LYNNWOOD, Wash. — An accused serial shoplifter is behind bars following a year’s long investigation.
Lynnwood police said they and the Snohomish County Violent Offender Task Force arrested a woman who allegedly terrorized Ulta Beauty stores spanning the Pacific Northwest.
Investigators said the 26-year-old woman allegedly cost the company about half a million dollars in damages and stolen merchandise. One Lynnwood Ulta employee told KIRO 7 off-camera that the suspect was notorious for going into stores and tearing up displays.
“This female has been wanted in connection with these sorts of crimes in Ulta stores from Oregon to Washington state,” said Maren McKay, Lynnwood Police Department’s Public Affairs Manager.
Investigators have been trying to track the suspect down since June 2022. McKay said the woman was arrested in South King County on Thursday.
“She’s incurred about $450,000 worth of losses for Ulta,” said McKay. “She usually destroys some of the merchandise and the components that are there in the store like the displays, I know she’s also brought bear spray with her as well as kind of an intimidation tactic.”
LPD released security footage of the woman destroying a perfume display inside an Ulta. They didn’t say which location the footage came from, but in it, the woman is seen reaching for what investigators say is bear spray when someone tried to intervene in the destruction.
“Thankfully she never deployed that and injured anybody but she did bring that as an intimidation tactic,” McKay said.
A National Retail Federation study published in September shows shoplifting in Washington state and nationwide is up, and it’s more violent. That study shows Seattle jumped to number five on the list of top ten cities affected the most by shoplifting in 2022. The year before it was ranked number eight. In 2020 Seattle was tenth on the list.
Nationwide, almost 90% of retailers said 2022 shoplifters were more violent than before. Around 49% of those people said shoplifters were “much more” violent.
Retailers also said in 2022 they lost $112.1 billion to shoplifters.
“Don’t do this sort of thing anywhere but don’t do it in Lynnwood. We’re going to hold people accountable for their actions,” McKay said.
Ulta sent us this statement:
We can confirm that Ulta Beauty partnered with law enforcement on this investigation. The rise in organized retail crime is affecting all retailers, including Ulta Beauty, and we have a dedicated nationwide team of investigators who work closely with various law enforcement agencies and other retailers to solve complex cases involving organized theft operations. We are deeply committed to this issue and to ensuring a safe working environment for our associates and shopping environment for our guests.
Police expect to make more arrests related to these crimes.
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