Attorney General cracks down on retail crime with 17 arrests in three cities

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — In a press conference today, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced that several arrests had been made in central Arkansas in connection with organized retail crime.

Griffin said the arrests were the result of coordinated operations by his office, the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Conway police departments, as well as Homeland Security Investigations and 11 private sector partners.

You can read the Attorney General’s full statement below:

Last month, coordinated blitzes in North Little Rock, Little Rock and Conway resulted in the arrest of 17 individuals involved in organized retail crime and the recovery of stolen property. This is in addition to the multi-state operation based in Blytheville that my office supported earlier this year that resulted in nine arrests.

I congratulate and thank the special agents in my Special Investigations Division who have held regular meetings with law enforcement and private companies to coordinate activities, share information, and jointly develop strategies to combat this type of crime. Organized retail crime requires an organized response, and I am proud to lead this effort in Arkansas.

With the addition of a new, dedicated organized retail crime investigator in my Special Investigations Division, I look forward to further activities coordinated by my office to combat these crimes, which cost American businesses $70 billion a year and burden consumers through higher prices for goods.

Griffin also said these blitzes occurred on August 15 in Little Rock, August 22 in North Little Rock and September 12 in Conway.

Eight of the 17 people arrested have been charged with serious crimes, Griffin's office said.

A full list of arrests can be found below:

• Myron Allen, male, 46, of North Little Rock, grand theft of property and failure to appear
• Devin Lashawn, female, 41, of Little Rock, theft of property
• James Bone, male, 68, of Little Rock, grand theft of property
• Elizabeth Harper, female, 42, of Little Rock, grand theft of property
• Erma Johnson, female, 64, of Little Rock, grand theft of property
• Sophia Hartman, female, 34, of North Little Rock, theft of property
• Kevin Barnes, male, 47, of North Little Rock, theft of property
• Patrick Jensen, male, 24, of Little Rock, aggravated theft of property and aggravated possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine)
• Kiara Morning, female, 32, of Little Rock, theft of property
• Joshua Starns, male, 44, of Ward, theft of property and possession of a controlled substance with the purpose of distribution (marijuana)
• Danny Long, male, 59, of North Little Rock, grand theft of property
• Star Darksbane, female, 39, of Florence, Alabama, theft of property
• Stephanie Wallace, male, 38, of Florence, Alabama, theft of property
• Courtney Cowan, female, 43, of Russellville, grand theft of property
• Lanaia Azumara-Williams, female, 18, of Conway, theft of property
• Angela Arnold, female, 38, of Bryant, grand theft of property
• Dominique Hammonds, male, 20, of Center Ridge, theft of property

Griffin also said a stolen vehicle was recovered and returned to its owner.

In July 2023, the Attorney General announced the state's participation in the Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama Organized Retail Crime Alliance (LAMA ORCA).

Since its inception, ORCA task forces have been established in Little Rock, Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

LAMA ORCA has conducted eight blitzes in four states to date in collaboration with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

Thanks to the involvement of Homeland Security Investigations, the Task Force is able to prosecute criminals at the federal level.

“Our sphere of influence extends beyond Arkansas, so we can apply many of the lessons learned here across the entire alliance, the four-state area,” said Jeff Pryor, special agent for Homeland Security Investigations.

Speakers at today's press conference stressed that organised shoplifting, which is usually directed against large chain stores and is linked to other criminal activities, is more widespread than isolated cases of petty theft and can have far-reaching consequences.

“I have kids, and when organized organizations come together and start stealing things like acetaminophen for kids. And then all of a sudden there's a run on acetaminophen for kids in the state of Arkansas and you have a kid with a 104-degree fever, that's as real as it gets for parents,” Pryor said.

ORCA is considered the first alliance of its kind to span multiple states and jurisdictions.

“We're the first. We want to actually get something done so we can tell other states how effective it was. We want to send a signal to the public that this is an increased threat,” Griffin said.

Griffin said he intends to introduce tougher penalties for organized retail crime in the next legislative session in January.

“I think it's fair to impose additional penalties and highlight the problem. And it's important to make sure that everyone knows that if you do that, the outcome is not going to be good.”