Connecticut
Connecticut couple charged in alleged Lululemon theft spree that netted up to $1 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.
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.
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.
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.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (WTNH) — Aaliyah Edwards came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Portland Fire, 90-87, during Camp Day on Tuesday morning at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Thousands of kids were in attendance to watch the Sun hold on to a fourth-quarter lead as the Fire attempted to rally. Connecticut led by 10 at halftime and saw its lead cut to one in the final period.
Brittney Griner added 20 points for the Sun, who ended their three-game homestand with a victory. Olivia Nelson-Ododa went 8-for-8 from the foul line en route to 16 points and Leila Lacan chipped in 14.
Carla Leite led the Fire with 18 points.
The Sun visit Phoenix on Friday for the first of two games with the Mercury.
Florida’s tallest flag pole raises new Stars and Stripes on Independence Day
Florida’s tallest free-standing American flagpole now stands 250 feet tall at Bernice Braden Park in Cape Coral
You might have seen Connecticut’s state flag in government buildings and schools and wondered what the meaning was behind its design.
Adopted by the General Assembly in 1897, the Flag of Connecticut features a navy blue background with a white shield. Three grapevines with purple grapes are on the shield and oak leaves and acorns can be found on the shield’s edge.
Below the shield is a banner which features the phrase “Qui Transtulit Sustinet” written in Latin. According to ConnecticutHistory.org, that phrase translates to “He who transplanted still sustains,” which honors the colonists who moved to the state from England.
Per Encyclopedia Britannica, the three grapevines have two competing interpretations: they represent either the three oldest settlements in the state (Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor) or the three colonies that merged to form Connecticut (Connecticut Colony, Saybrook Colony and New Haven Colony).
Why is the Connecticut flag blue?
According to ConnecticutHistory.org, the blue comes from Connecticut’s Civil War military flags. During the Civil War, Connecticut regiments had flags featuring blue backgrounds. ConnecticutHistory.org reports that when the legislature adopted an official flag in 1897, they kept the color that military tradition had already established.
Origins of Connecticut’s state flag
Per ConnecticutHistory.org, Connecticut did not have an official state flag until 1897. The site reports that in 1895, the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Groton pushed for an official flag to display in their new meeting room.
Governor Owen Vincent Coffin introduced a bill on May 29, 1895, which ConnecticutHistory.org says caused the legislature to subsequently form a committee. After several designs were submitted, the Connecticut General Assembly adopted the flag in 1897.
Connecticut’s coat of arms, which includes the shield, grapevines and banner featured on the state flag, was not formally standardized until 1931, according to USASymbol.com. The website also says color standards for the flag came in 1956, when the Secretary of the State’s office developed uniform specifications.
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