4 women suspected in retail theft crew arrested after stealing from Gaithersburg Lululemon: police

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - Police in Montgomery County say they have arrested four women believed to be part of a retail theft ring that's targeted the same businesses repeatedly for months.  

The four women, all from D.C., were taken into custody at Downtown Crown Shopping Center Wednesday afternoon. 

Police say 26-year-old Mone Herndon, 26-year-old Shawn Stewart, 18-year-old Precious Spivey and a 17-year-old, who remains unidentified due to her status as a minor, are facing felony theft-related charges.

At this time, police believe the women may be responsible for more than a dozen retail thefts in Montgomery County in recent weeks. 

Detectives began working in collaboration with staff at the Lululemon located in the 100 block of Crown Park Avenue both inside and around the business to stay on the lookout. 

Police were working the retail theft detail when they saw the four women enter the business, split up and "bear hug" multiple items. The four suspects then made their way to the door without paying. 

Arrest Caught on Camera

What we know:

Video obtained by FOX 5 shows a Gaithersburg police detective arresting one of the women, right outside of the store. The three others fled on foot. After a brief foot chase, the other women were caught in the area of the Harris Teeter located in the 300 block of Copley Place.

"You know you're in the store and and here comes four or five people and just grabbing a bunch of items, possibly may knock you down as they're trying to get away or you're standing there, you're astonished at what's going on but those prices do come on us as well," said Cpl. Dan Lane with the Gaithersburg Police Department. 

"But you also have employees who sometimes because of this don't feel safe to be there so they question whether they should relocate to another business. It affects a lot of us in many ways," he continued. 

Police say the four suspects nabbed more than $10,000 worth of merchandise. Throughout their investigation, detectives also determined that the four suspects had also stolen more than $1,500 worth of items from a Bath & Body Works in Germantown. They’re also suspected in a theft at the Lenscrafters located in the unit block of Grand Corner Avenue.

"I'm glad that they're caught because we come down here, we bring our families down here, we don't ever want to be in a situation where you never know what they are carrying with them. You don't know what they would do to get away. So I'm glad that that's not something we have to worry about anymore," Germantown resident Sonia Sotoglo said.

Women Suspected in Other Thefts

What's next:

The suspects are being charged with this latest theft from Lululemon as well as previous thefts from the same store and the Bath and Body Works theft. Police are also looking into the possibility these are the same suspects in a robbery at the Dick's Sporting Goods over at The Rio. A police officer was struck by the getaway car in one of those cases.

FOX 5 is told all three adult women arrested Wednesday were released by a court commission. The 17-year-old was released to their parents. They have a court date in April.