What started as an apparent snatch-and-run at a Lululemon store in Peachtree City last Friday ended with a violent rollover crash at the busy intersection of Ga. Highway 74 and Crosstown Drive. Two women were taken into custody, an uninvolved motorist suffered minor injuries, and officers say they recovered thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise. The chaos has neighbors talking again about organized retail theft and how far police should go when chases cut through crowded shopping hubs.
Chase ended near The Avenue Peachtree City
According to Peachtree City officers, corporate asset-protection staff at The Avenue Peachtree City flagged two suspects inside the Lululemon store. When the pair left in a Hyundai Tucson, officers tried to pull the vehicle over, but it took off instead. The pursuit ran from the Clover Reach area toward the intersection of Highway 74 and Crosstown Drive and ended when the Tucson hit another car and rolled, injuring the uninvolved driver and briefly shutting down lanes in the area.
As reported by WSB-TV, officers secured the scene, checked the suspects for injuries and then had them transported for medical evaluation.
Suspects named; linked to wider theft probe
Authorities identified the two people taken into custody as 26-year-old Evaria Billings and 27-year-old Shanteanna Johnson and said both were found with what police described as thousands of dollars in alleged stolen merchandise. Johnson was later booked into the Fayette County Jail, while Billings was taken to a hospital for treatment, according to local reporting.
Investigators say the arrests are part of a broader probe that could connect the pair to a string of Lululemon thefts across metro Atlanta, as seen in footage shared by FOX 5 Atlanta.
Witnesses question pursuit tactics
Witness Lolley Campbell told The Citizen that the fleeing Tucson looked like it was “going 80+” as it tried to squeeze between lanes moments before the collision. Campbell said she was stopped at the light with a young child in the car and watching the chase roar past so close to her family made her rethink whether a high-speed takedown is worth the risk in such a busy corridor. Her account adds to growing local questions about when and how officers should pursue fleeing suspects through crowded retail areas.
Why shoplifting can lead to felony charges
Under Georgia law, shoplifting becomes a felony when the value of stolen items tops $500, a threshold prosecutors pointed to when discussing potential charges in this case. The statute is codified at Justia, and police said the amount of recovered merchandise could push the investigation firmly into felony territory.
Deputies and local detectives said they are coordinating with other agencies while they sort through receipts, surveillance footage and earlier reports that may be tied to the same suspects.
Investigation ongoing
Peachtree City police say the investigation is still active and that detectives are working with other jurisdictions and Lululemon's corporate asset-protection team to review additional footage and flag similar incidents. The department told reporters that Atlanta warrants are part of the inquiry and that more charges could be filed as the case moves through the Fayette County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators are asking anyone with video or information about recent thefts at area stores to contact law enforcement so they can piece together what they describe as a broader pattern of retail crime.
