A spree of burglaries striking an Ulta Beauty store in Memphis culminated in three arrests, according to Memphis Police Department reports. The operation amassed over $25,000 in stolen goods and damages through multiple smash-and-grab incidents since April.
Identified and charged are Cristephon Johnson, 26, Zylandria Jordan, 24, and Martavis Love, 30, whom police linked to at least five burglaries. Fragrances appeared to be the favored target, a motive perhaps more straightforward than aromatic indulgence. The burglaries included shattered display cases and property damages that cumulatively escalated over the months they allegedly persisted, adding strain no doubt to an already beleaguered local business scene.
Specifically, yesterday officers found themselves at the scene of a recent shattered serenity—broken glass littered Ulta Beauty's facade on Germantown Parkway. This incident would evolve into a rock-solid lead for investigators; "a rock by the front window" served as the rather unrefined key to the store's valuable inventory, as explained in a report by Action News 5.
The break that cracked the case wide open occurred when a GPS tracking company tipped off the MPD to the whereabouts of supposed stolen Ulta Beauty items. They were traced to Greenbriar Apartments in Frayser, parked inside a silver Nissan Altima—the vehicle at the heart of the investigation. Door-to-door with where the three suspects were apprehended, within lay clothing and fragrances pilfered from Ulta, as indicated by WREG's reporting.
Upon their arrest and during subsequent interviews, both Jordan and Love, according to a FOX13 Memphis article, provided statements admitting their involvement with the burglaries; Johnson was locked in as a suspect through surveillance photo identifications.
As of the latest updates, Love and Johnson are scheduled for court appearances on Monday, presumably to face the music, to answer for the accusations of a dance with crime that, albeit brief, has left its indelible print on the floor of this Memphis Ulta Beauty's shattered reality.
