Sanford Police are asking the public for help identifying a person suspected of walking out of a local Ulta with more than $1,500 worth of fragrance products back in July. The theft happened on July 20 at the Ulta located at 1751 W.P. Ball Boulevard, and investigators still don't have a name to attach to the case nearly four months later.
The department shared an attempt-to-identify post on Tuesday, seeking tips from anyone who recognizes the person responsible, according to the Sanford Police Department on Facebook. The post lays out the basic details: an unknown person took multiple fragrance products valued at over $1,500 from the store, and police are hoping someone in the community can put a name to the face.
Not the First Time This Ulta Has Been Targeted
This isn't the first time merchandise has walked out of that particular Ulta location without being paid for. Back in 2023, Sanford Police sought help identifying and locating two women connected to a separate perfume theft at the same store, according to Orlando-News.com. In that case, the women were seen entering the Ulta at 1751 WP Ball Boulevard on March 21, where they allegedly concealed travel-size fragrances along with one full-size bottle before leaving without paying. The outlet reported the total value of those stolen items came to approximately $2,290.
Fragrance theft has become something of a recurring headache for Sanford's beauty retailers. The store was also hit earlier this year when more than $500 in fragrance testers went missing, prompting another public appeal from police, the station's report notes. Between the tester disappearance, the 2023 perfume case, and now this July incident, the same Ulta has generated three separate public pleas for help in a relatively short stretch.
A Statewide Pattern of Organized Fragrance Theft
Sanford isn't alone in dealing with pricey perfume disappearing off shelves. In West Palm Beach, police alleged that a man named Ruben Costa Chirino stole 16 designer fragrance bottles valued at $2,178 from an ULTA store on July 18, 2025, and then returned less than two weeks later to take 15 more bottles worth $1,923, according to CBS12. Investigators in that case alleged Chirino targeted major retail chains across five Florida counties — Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Lee, and Collier — between June and August of that year.
There is nothing in the Sanford case that ties it to that West Palm Beach investigation or to the 2023 incident involving the two women. The identity of the person sought in this latest case, along with any description of them, has not been released, and whether anyone has been identified or arrested remains unknown. Sanford Police, which notes it has served the community since 1877, is asking anyone with information to come forward.
