The 19-year-old ringleader of a high-end retail theft ring has been arrested, Philly Police say
Police said they're searching for seven other people who were in the group, including a 9-year-old girl who was recruited to steal goods for them.
Philadelphia Police say they’ve arrested two people and identified seven others who were part of a retail theft group targeting high-end clothing stores in the city and suburbs, including Givenchy and Lululemon — an operation that one commander compared to a “business” of its own, with thefts often netting tens of thousands of dollars.
Inspector Raymond Evers said the arrests occurred last week after two people — one 19 years old, the other 24 — were caught by police trying to drive away from a theft at the Lululemon store on the 1700 block of Walnut Street.
Using surveillance video and other evidence, Evers said, investigators have since linked the pair or their alleged co-conspirators to about 20 thefts at various area stores dating to November. In two instances, Evers said, the group recruited a 9-year-old girl to steal the merchandise for them before reselling the items at bars in the city or online.
Evers said the 19-year-old, whom he identified as Janiyah Robinson, served as the groups’ de facto ring leader, recruiting young people to go into stores with trash bags, grab handfuls of merchandise, then run out. Evers said the group struck locations including the Walnut Street Lululemon, a Givenchy store at the King of Prussia Mall, and another Lululemon at Suburban Square in Lower Merion.
Most of the thefts took only a few minutes, but police estimated that they stole merchandise with a retail value of at least $70,000.
Last month, Robinson and three other people were arrested by Lower Merion police after a theft at the Lululemon there, police said. But all were released on unsecured bail after that May 14 episode.
Philadelphia Police then encountered Robinson on Thursday, after the alleged theft at the Walnut Street Lululemon. The other person arrested that night — Ayonna Robinson, 24 — had also been charged and released in the Lower Merion case, police said. (Authorities said Janiyah Robinson and Ayonna Robinson are not related).
Janiyah Robinson — whose name is listed in court documents as Jahide Robinson — was being held on $180,000 bail, court records show. The Defender Association, which is representing Robinson, did not respond to an immediate request for comment Tuesday.
Evers said police were searching for the seven other coconspirators, and that six of them were likely to face charges (the 9-year-old was not, Evers said, but he added that Robinson could end up facing additional charges of endangering the welfare of a child).
He said the arrests were illustrative of authorities’ efforts to identify and apprehend thieves as shoplifting continues to plague area retailers. Retail theft is one of the few crime categories that has increased in the city this year, according to police statistics, with more than 9,000 occurrences reported to authorities — a 34% increase over last year’s pace.
“What we’re looking at are prolific offenders,” Evers said. “Not the kid with the candy bar, but the folks that are committing retail theft for profit.”