According to the Bellevue Police Department, Bellevue detectives have cracked the cases of three major regional organized retail theft rings responsible for over $100,000 in stolen merchandise. Charges have been made in two of the organized cases, while the third is pending.
Four suspects have been charged, three with working together to steal from the Louis Vuitton store at The Shops at The Bravern. The fourth suspect sold the bags illegally. Investigators explained that the three suspects went twice in June 2022 and stole about $93,000 worth of purses.
Detectives found the stolen purses for sale online, set up a buy, and arrested one of the suspects.
All four charged in this case had extensive criminal histories, according to charging documents. “These suspects were aggressive and coordinated in their efforts and often physically confronted employees or security who stood in their way,” said Captain Shelby Shearer. “These crew also caused significant damage to the stores during the thefts, causing some businesses to close for the day to clean up the mess.”
The second case involves a 24 year-old suspect accused of multiple thefts totaling nearly $13,000 from Bellevue’s Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack in October and November 2021.
The woman was charged with organized theft in the first degree and two counts of trafficking in stolen property in the first degree. She is also charged with five counts of organized retail theft and trafficking out of Seattle, totaling more than $84,000 in those cases.
The third case that is currently pending, involved an almost $7000 theft from Ulta in Factoria.
“We joined the state’s Organized Retail Task Force committed to cracking down on this crime,” said Captain Shearer. “These cases involved regional collaboration and partnerships with other law enforcement agencies and the affected businesses. Arresting these suspects reduces crime not only in Bellevue but regionally.”
According to Bellevue Beat Blog, additional charges are expected.
