TEXARKANA, Texas – Two Arkansas women accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of fragrances from a Victoria’s Secret store in Texarkana, Texas, in December have been charged in Bowie County with organized retail theft.
Javona Shantell Whitmore, 42, and Allison Chanel Williams, 36, both of Pine Bluff, Ark., allegedly walked into the Victoria’s Secret at 2400 Richmond Road in Texarkana on Dec. 3 and Dec. 5 with a plan, according to a probable cause affidavit.
On Dec. 3, the women allegedly entered the store shortly after 11 a.m., grabbed store tote bags and filled them with more than $2,800 worth of fragrance bottles that were displayed on a table. A customer who observed the alleged theft followed the women as they walked out with the merchandise and captured a video of them leaving the mall in a white Nissan Altima, the affidavit said.
The duo allegedly returned to the store on Dec. 5, stealing more merchandise.
An investigator with the Texarkana Texas Police Dept. made contact with the owner of the white Altima, who indicated that Williams was in possession of the car at the time of the thefts, the affidavit said.
Williams allegedly denied any knowledge of the thefts when contacted by the investigator.
A regional asset protection manager for Victoria’s Secret reportedly told the investigator that Whitmore had been arrested in Little Rock in mid-December in connection with a series of organized retail thefts, including from Victoria Secret stores, and that she is believed to have participated in thefts totaling more than $96,000 in loss to retailers.
Whitmore and Williams have both been charged with theft of property and with organized retail theft. If convicted of theft of property, the women face six months to two years in a state jail. If found guilty of organized retail theft, $2,500 to $30,000, they face two to ten years in prison.
Whitmore is currently being held in the Bowie County jail with bail set at $200,000. Williams is currently free on bonds totaling $50,000.
The case has been assigned to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell.