Two women from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were arrested in Nashville’s Gulch neighborhood after employees at a Lululemon store caught them removing tags from merchandise inside the dressing rooms, and officers later found more than $10,000 worth of stolen goods stashed inside a Kia parked nearby. Satonya Maiden, 46, and Ebony Hammond, 33, now face charges tied to what police describe as a theft operation that stretched across multiple states.
According to WSMV, store employees recognized Maiden and Hammond and reportedly knew they had outstanding theft warrants tied to Lululemon locations across the country. Officers found a key fob for a Kia parked near the store while arresting Hammond, according to WKRN News 2, and a search of the vehicle turned up the trove of merchandise.
Inside the Kia, police reported finding more than $10,000 worth of goods connected to out-of-state thefts, including items from Lululemon, Alo, Sephora, Ulta and Carhartt, per the same account. Officials said both women had already been banned from Lululemon stores nationwide following an arrest related to a theft in another state, a detail that suggests this was far from their first run-in with the retailer’s loss-prevention teams.
False Names and Multi-State Warrants
When officers responded to the scene, Hammond initially gave two false last names and two fraudulent Social Security numbers, police said. That attempt to dodge identification didn’t hold up, and investigators determined she carries full extradition warrants in Texas, Virginia, Arkansas and Louisiana, the report notes. Maiden reportedly has her own set of extradition warrants tied to theft cases in Texas, Arkansas and Iowa.
Maiden is being charged with burglary, theft, drug possession and being a fugitive from justice, according to the WKRN report. Hammond faces charges of burglary, theft, criminal impersonation and being a fugitive from justice. Police said they released no further information on the case beyond those details.
Not the First Lululemon Theft Case in Nashville
This isn’t the first time Nashville police have announced an arrest tied to alleged theft at the athleisure chain. Last November, two women were arrested after an alleged scheme involving more than $8,000 in merchandise stolen from a Lululemon on 12th Avenue South and an Alo Yoga store at Green Hills Mall, the station reported. Months earlier, in March, two other women were accused of stealing from two separate Lululemon locations in the city.
A separate case logged by the Metro Nashville Police Department described a different shoplifter caught in the act at the 12th Avenue South Lululemon with nearly $2,500 worth of merchandise. Each case has involved distinct suspects and circumstances, but together they point to a retailer that keeps drawing repeat attention from local shoplifting investigations.
