WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: 4-figure shoplifting arrest (updated)

ORIGINAL THURSDAY NIGHT REPORT: Police arrested a suspected shoplifter tonight after a four-figure theft from Ulta Beauty in Westwood Village. Their preliminary summary says officers responded to a report of “multiple fragrances” stolen from the store. They found the suspect on foot nearby and recovered $3,094 worth of stolen items. The suspect was booked into jail; the items were returned to the store.

ADDED NOON FRIDAY: More details from the full-length police report – the suspect is a 31-year-old man. Police found him after checking the Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail in the Roxhill Park area south of Westwood Village; the report says the trail “is commonly used by shoplift suspects as it allows significant cover and provides multiple access/exit points.” They found him with a backpack that looked “overstuffed”; a witness had told them he was in the store wearing a backpack and “carrying a large laundry bin” into which 34 bottles of fragrance products had been placed. The witness said he was then seen in the parking lot near trash bins, removing tags from the stolen products, and transferring them from the laundry bin. Police found the 34 bottles in the backpack. According to online records, the suspect has a lengthy criminal history going back more than a decade and is currently awaiting trial on charges from two building burglaries downtown early this year. The documents from that case say his record includes at least 55 failure-to-appear warrants from past cases.

13 Replies to "WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: 4-figure shoplifting arrest (updated)"

  • Zipda June 3, 2021 (9:44 pm)

    If nothing else he will smell great in jail.

  • 1994 June 3, 2021 (10:00 pm)

    Good catch! and taken to jail is good too!

  • dhg June 3, 2021 (10:23 pm)

    He’s gonna come out of this smelling like roses

  • Randy June 3, 2021 (10:25 pm)

    I smell a rat

  • WSB June 3, 2021 (10:35 pm)

    For the record, I don’t yet know the suspect’s gender. The preliminary summaries are very short and sometimes, as in this case, are devoid of gender, age, etc. I’ll be following up tomorrow. – TR

  • StopCuttingDownTrees June 3, 2021 (11:58 pm)

    Eau De Justice.

    • Sheila G June 4, 2021 (8:09 am)

      Sweet!

  • anonyme June 4, 2021 (7:03 am)

    An arrest doesn’t mean justice, at least not yet.  Let’s wait and see how long this individual actually spends in jail.

  • Scubafrog June 4, 2021 (7:53 am)

    I’m glad the business was made whole (and perp apprehended).  That is a lot of product, good gracious.

  • skeeter June 4, 2021 (9:41 am)

    I’m wondering now.  When a consumer pays $1 for an item, what amount goes toward the cost associated with theft.  Is it 2 cents?  10 cents?  There is a cost, and we all pay it.  

    • Jeff June 4, 2021 (10:38 am)

      When I worked retail 1% was considered normal shrink loss.   

  • WSB June 4, 2021 (12:23 pm)

    Updated the story with a few more details from the full-length police report.

  • Auntie June 4, 2021 (1:10 pm)

    Just because he has multiple failure to appear warrants doesn’t mean that our loosey-goosey judges won’t release him “on his own recognizance.” I’d like, for once, for the judge to realize that his own recognizance isn’t worth a spit and keep him locked up. Too often these repeat offenders are released time and again on little or no bail.

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