Connecticut couple arrested for $1 million theft from Lululemon

MINNESOTA (WABC) -- A Connecticut couple arrested in Minnesota is connected to a nationwide organized theft of $1 million in merchandise from Lululemon, according to prosecutors.

Jadion Richards and Akwele Lawes-Richards were initially stopped on suspicion of shoplifting from Lululemon at Rosedale Center after a store alarm had gone off. Jadion Richards, who is Black, claimed store employees set it off on purpose and told police he was being racially profiled, according to court records.

Later, police realized Richards, Lawes-Richards and a third individual had stolen nearly $5000 in merchandise from the store, according to the criminal complaint.

A Lululemon investigator told police the couple stole $1 million in merchandise from Lululemon stores in several states and then committed fraudulent returns at different Lululemon locations.

When investigators searched the couple's hotel room in Bloomington, MN they found 12 suitcases containing $50,000 worth of Lululemon merchandise with the tags still on.

The Lululemon investigator said the Richards' are behind thefts elsewhere in Minnesota, in Utah and in Colorado where they would distract associates, secretly remove security sensors or conceal items underneath their shirts and jackets "without any regard to size, price or color," according to the criminal complaint. They would return the stolen merchandise at stores in New York and Connecticut for refunds on their credit cards in what prosecutors described as "a never-ending cycle."

"Because of the outstanding work of the Roseville Police investigators - including their new Retail Crime Unit -- as well as other law enforcement agencies, these individuals accused of this massive retail theft operation have been caught. We will do everything in our power to hold these defendants accountable and continue to work with our law enforcement partners and retail merchants to put a stop to retail theft in our community," a spokesman for the Ramsey County Attorney's Office said.

The court ordered $30,000 bail for Lawes-Richards with conditional release including weekly check-ins as she has ties to Minnesota. For Richards, the court ordered $100,000 bail with conditional release and weekly check-ins

This is the first case in Ramsey County that charges a recent Minnesota law aimed at addressing organized retail theft with enhanced penalties.