Lululemon larceny: ‘Fence’ arrested in huge WA theft ring

The Spotlight: Lululemon larceny

Detectives bust the fence accused of buying stolen goods from thieves who stole half a million dollars worth of clothing from store like Lululemon and Ulta. Plus, teen violence is on the rise in Western Washington. We'll take a look at how officials are trying to put an end to it. And the Belltown Hellcat was back in court this week, wearing strange attire. Prosecutors are calling it a mockery of justice.

The crackdown continues on a theft ring accused of stealing $500,000 worth of clothing and other items from Lululemon and Ulta stores in Snohomish, King and Pierce County.

Loss prevention investigators from those two companies partnered with Bellevue police to put a stop to the thieving.

After conducting surveillance on the group of suspects, including 24-year-old Janeice Downs, detectives arrested their alleged fence. In court documents, police say they obtained video evidence showing 51-year-old Quoc Nguyen meeting with Downs in a parking lot in Burien, where he paid cash for armloads of stolen clothing from Lululemon.

King County Prosecutors have charged Nguyen with two counts of first-degree trafficking in stolen property. He pleaded not guilty in court and was released pending trial. Detectives say he first drew their attention after learning he allegedly purchased thousands of dollars worth of fragrances and high-end sunglasses stolen from Nordstrom in Bellevue. Court documents say he paid $25 cents on the dollar. When questioned by detectives, he claimed he would resell the items to people in downtown Seattle. Investigators believe he was actually shipping it all overseas to be sold.

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(The Spotlight)

Downs was back in King County Superior Court this week, asking Judge David Keenan to release her from jail on electronic home monitoring. She was arrested last April and has remained in custody. Her attorney argued that she has a new felony crime to answer to in Pierce County.

However, the prosecutor objected to the motion, stating that Downs does not need to be released to address her Pierce County warrant and can be transferred there without being released from custody.

This legal wrangling is the latest development in Downs' case as it works its way through the courts. Detectives say they have evidence that Downs enlisted the aid of an 11-year-old girl as one of her accomplices. King County Prosecutors charged her with five felony counts of organized retail theft. Prosecutors in Pierce County charged her with the same crime, after police say she was seen on camera stealing all the leggings from the Lululemon in the Tacoma Mall.

During arguments on whether to release her from custody, the prosecutor told Judge Keenan that more charges are pending in King County, and she is wanted across state lines. "A 16-count indictment charging her with theft and organized retail theft was filed in Oregon on April 22, 2024," said the prosecutor.

Judge Keenan ruled that Downs will remain in custody on $100,000 bail.

Meanwhile, Bellevue police have been hard at work rolling up the rest of Downs' alleged crew. Charges were referred this week to the prosecutor on three more female suspects. "These women would come into stores like Lululemon, Nordstrom, and Macy's, immediately select high-dollar clothing, and then exit the store without paying," said Officer Seth Tyler with Bellevue PD.

Prosecutors are praising Bellevue PD Detective Jeff Christiansen for the nine-month-long investigation that dismantled the theft ring, emphasizing that this is a public safety issue at its core. Patrick Hinds, the Chief Deputy of the Economic Crimes and Wage Theft Division for the King County Prosecutors office, is part of a working group trying to make it easier for law enforcement to combine organized retail theft cases that often stretch across multiple counties.

"The issue that it creates is that this is a public safety issue at its core," said Hinds. "Many of these crimes involve either a threat of violence or actual violence, even if they don't, they're scary."

A successful prosecution of Downs and her alleged crew would send a message to others looking to make a dishonest living.

Lululemon loss prevention officers in Western Washington say that thefts dropped 80% in the first month after Downs' arrest. Detectives are urging prosecutors to level the more serious charge of leading organized crime.

"In order to charge someone with leading organized crime, you need to prove that they were the individual that organized, financed or directed what was going on. That's not the same as someone who does it a lot with a lot of other people," said Hinds.

Prosecutors are currently reviewing hundreds of pages of probable cause documents and surveillance videos before making a decision on any further charges.