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Connecticut couple charged in alleged Lululemon theft spree that netted up to $1 million

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Connecticut couple charged in alleged Lululemon theft spree that netted up to  million


A Connecticut couple has been charged in connection with an elaborate two-month theft spree at Lululemon stores across the country that an investigator with the retailer estimates netted about $1 million worth of product.

Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, were arrested on Nov. 14 in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota suburb of Woodbury. The couple, from Danbury, Connecticut, were charged with organized retail theft after a Lululemon retail crime investigator contacted local authorities in Minnesota.

But Lululemon’s investigator said evidence shows their crimes go back to September and took place in states like Utah, Colorado, New York and Connecticut, according to the criminal complaint.

Attorneys representing Richards and Lawes-Richards did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment Thursday.

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Richards claimed he was racially profiled, complaint says

Richards and Lawes-Richards were stopped after exiting the Lululemon store in Roseville, Minnesota, on Nov. 14 when the security alarm went off, according to the criminal complaint. Richards allegedly claimed store employees racially profiled him and the two were allowed to leave afterward.

The Lululemon investigator later alleged the two visited the store the day before on Nov. 13 with an unidentified man and stole 45 item valued at nearly $5,000. That same day, the pair had allegedly conducted four other thefts in Minneapolis, Edina and Minnetonka.

Officers arrested the couple at the Lululemon in Woodbury. The two denied any involvement in the theft, with Lawes-Richards allegedly claiming they were staying with her aunt and had only been in Minnesota for a day.

Officers found several credit and debit cards on the couple, as well as an access card to a Marriott hotel room. Using a search warrant, officers found 12 suitcases in their room, including three filled with Lululemon clothing with tags attached worth over $50,000, according to the complaint.

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In all, the company investigator estimated the couple has taken up to $1 million in stolen product, according to the complaint, which does not detail how he arrived at the high figure.

Couple blocked cameras among other tactics: Investigator

The Lululemon investigator said one of the couple’s alleged tactics was for one of them to distract associates while another stuffed product in the clothes they were wearing, according to the complaint.

Another technique involved the two strategically exiting the store, with one of them holding a cheap item they had bought and the other carrying more expensive products that had sensors, according to the complaint. When the alarm would sound off, only the person with the cheap, purchased item would stay behind and show a receipt, while the other would keep walking with the stolen product, the complaint says.

The pair are accused in eight Colorado theft incidents between Oct. 29 and 30, and seven thefts in Utah on Nov. 6 and 7, according to the complaint.

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The pair are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in Minnesota, court records show. Their next court appearance is set for Dec. 16.



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Connecticut

O Little Town of Bethlehem: Connecticut Town Celebrates Christmas All Year Long

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O Little Town of Bethlehem: Connecticut Town Celebrates Christmas All Year Long


A rural town connects beautifully to the miraculous event so long ago.

“O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie,” begins a beloved Christmas carol sung since 1868, paying homage to Jesus’ birthplace.

But have you heard of Bethlehem, Connecticut?

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It’s a favorite destination because of its Christmas connection. With approximately 3,400 residents, modest in size like its ancient namesake once was, the rural town of Bethlehem has two places that connect beautifully to that miraculous event of the Nativity.

The Nutmeg State’s Bethlehem is home to Regina Laudis Abbey, a community of cloistered Benedictine nuns founded after World War II. Here, the nuns have a magnificent early-18th-century Neapolitan crèche, displayed in a restored barn nearly as old and donated specifically to house this Nativity scene. Both the crèche and barn received a meticulous four-year restoration completed less than two decades ago by experts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

This is no small Neapolitan crèche. It spans 16 feet wide and 6 feet deep. The Nativity scene takes place before a backdrop mural of an 18th-century seaside and an azure sky.

A wider panorama of the Christmas display(Photo: Joseph Pronechen)

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Jesus, Mary and Joseph are at the heart of the crèche where our Savior’s birth is set vividly in a Neapolitan mountainside village — complete with angels hovering in wonderment and awe and scores of villagers react in different ways to the overwhelming presence of the Holy Family.

Simple peasants close to the Holy Family stand in awe and mingle with the Three Kings. Some villagers stop to contemplate Jesus’ birth. Others go on with everyday life as if nothing unusual or life-changing is happening.

The animated scene’s 68 figures and 20 animals of carved wood, ceramic, metal and plant fiber stand up to 16 inches high. They’re dressed in their original period dress that the Metropolitan Museum specialists also carefully restored to pristine condition.

From all indications and evidence, this crèche was a gift to Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia on his coronation in 1720. In 1948, it was brought to America and then in 1949 the woman who then owned it donated it to the abbey to preserve and display it.

Also on the abbey’s grounds is a simple, life-size Nativity scene of the Holy Family, located in a simple shed, with Joseph dressed in a checked farmer’s jacket. Abbey visitors might even spot a sheep or two.

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Later during the Christmas season, you might want to watch the 1949 film Come to the Stable that tells the story of Regina Laudis Abbey and whose main characters, two nuns played by Loretta Young and Celeste Holm, are based on the actual Benedictine nuns who came from France after World War II to establish it. It’s a much neglected classic.

Church Highlights Nativity All Year

In nearly a straight line, less than 3 miles from the abbey and a few yards from the center of town, the Church of the Nativity remembers the birth of Jesus year-round. Now a part of Prince of Peace parish, ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­the church was built in 1992 of fieldstone and wood and specifically designed to suggest or look like a large crèche. The church is topped with a star that is lit at night and directs people to the sacred edifice like the star directed the Magi.

The focal point of the church vestibule is a life-size manger scene. The figures were carved from a single pine tree by a Maine artist.

Church of the Nativity manger scene, Bethlehem CT
The Church of the Nativity vestibule has a life-size manger scene.(Photo: Joseph Pronechen)

A panorama of the town of Bethlehem is etched high on the glass behind the Holy Family. Etched on another glass panel are the Three Kings, depicted following the star to adore the Newborn King.

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In the nave, the church’s interior of stone, wood and large beams intentionally add to the manger atmosphere — as do the words “O Come All Ye Faithful” that stretch and beckon from high behind the altar.

The Nativity atmosphere continues all year. The Knights of Columbus built a 20-foot crèche on the parish’s front lawn.

Another Major Nativity

A little over 500 feet away is the Bethlehem Post Office, which, of course sees lots of extra traffic at this time of year — people enjoy getting their Christmas cards postmarked from “Bethlehem” and envelopes stamped with a Christmas greeting from the town.

Those who do visit these two Nativity treasures can continue singing Little Town of Bethlehem’s later verses:

How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heaven. No ear may hear His coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive him still, The dear Christ enters in.

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O holy Child of Bethlehem Descend to us, we pray Cast out our sin and enter in Be born to us today O come to us, abide with us Our Lord Emmanuel!

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Visiting hours for the abbey crèche: Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Winter Closure: Jan. 7-Easter Sunday; free.





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Connecticut

Man shot, killed in New Haven

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Man shot, killed in New Haven


A man has died after he was shot in the Elm City Tuesday night.

While details remain limited, police say the shooting happened on Edgewood Avenue.

No arrests have been made at this time and police are only tentatively identifying the man as a 43-year-old New Haven resident.

Anyone with any information is being asked to contact New Haven Police.

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Lawmakers split over CT Medicaid funding spend, ahead of legislative session

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Lawmakers split over CT Medicaid funding spend, ahead of legislative session


President-elect Donald Trump, a longtime opponent to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has the backing of a soon-to-be controlled Republican House and Senate to make changes to the ACA.

The proposed changes could result in how Medicaid is financed in Connecticut and across the U.S. Well over a half of Medicaid spending by states is financed by the federal government, with Connecticut receiving 63.4% of its Medicaid spending share in fiscal year 2023, according to KFF.

State lawmakers, however, are not overly concerned just yet.

“There have been some worrisome noises, but nothing to date that’s concrete,” State Sen. Matt Lesser, co-chair of the Human Services Committee, said.

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Lesser said lawmakers are paying close attention since federal changes to Medicaid would significantly impact “over almost half of the kids in the state, pregnant women, [and] retirees.”

The state-funded Medicaid program, known as HUSKY in Connecticut, provides coverage to undocumented children. On July 1, the cap was raised to include undocumented young people up to age 15.

Medicaid cost overruns could put access for low-income patients at risk

State finances will be central to Connecticut lawmakers’ discussions in the upcoming legislative session Jan. 8, with the potential expansion of Medicaid eligibility among undocumented immigrants.

Connecticut’s Medicaid program experienced cost overruns in the hundreds of millions of dollars at the start of the current fiscal year. The Connecticut Mirror reported that the Department of Social Services (DSS) is tallying usage and cost for the program, which has had a much higher interest in enrollments than expected, according to the DSS. The total cost is expected to be out before Gov. Ned Lamont releases his budget in February.

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State minority leaders have proposed to tighten the Medicaid fiscal belt.

Stephen Harding, Senate Republican Leader, and Vincent Candelora, House Republican Leader, said in a statement that the state should “suspend this policy immediately with the goal of eliminating it in the next budget cycle.”

The passage of the proposal would need the full approval of the state General Assembly.

But Democrat lawmakers seek to further expand the age cap for Medicaid eligibility among undocumented people.

State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, co-chair of the Human Services Committee, is among lawmakers and advocates who hope to push the cap higher this session – to 18 years.

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Gilchrest said lack of access to health care would mean that “their need is going to be heightened down the road, and we’re going to have to cover the cost of higher cost health care.”

And that would also apply to other Connecticut residents enrolled in Medicaid, she said.

“We need to have conversations about what access to care looks like for a population that continues to increase in our state because they are experiencing economic inequality,” Gilchrest said.





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