Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Organized Retail Crime Unit filed felony charges against a Maple Valley woman on Feb. 14 for a string of thefts from Ulta stores across Western Washington, adding up to more than $200,000 in losses.
The office filed two felony counts of organized retail theft in the first degree against Shellonda Keychell Daniel for 28 incidents of theft against the cosmetic chain — including Ulta’s Renton, Auburn and Federal Way locations — within the span of October 2022 to December 2023.
Ulta’s Renton location served as Daniel’s most targeted store.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Daniel targeted Ulta’s Renton store five times within the timeframe examined, stealing more than $35,500 worth of merchandise from the Renton store.
Daniel targeted Ulta’s Federal Way store twice, and the Auburn location once, according to the affidavit.
Additional Ulta stores targeted included Ulta’s Lynnwood, Marysville, Silverdale, Covington, Lake Stevens, West and North Seattle, Puyallup, Olympia, Bellingham, Marysville, Tukwila and Issaquah locations, according to the affidavit.
The thefts ranged from individual store losses of $1,042 to $19,459, with Daniel and accomplices loading tote bags with merchandise prior to leaving the stores. Daniel and accomplices physically and verbally threatened employees and destroyed store property in multiple incidents, according to the affidavit.
The Attorney General’s Office worked with Ulta’s store investigator on the serial thefts by utilizing CCTV footage, loss reports and interviews with staff and customers to identify Daniel and build a case.
The Snohomish County Violent Offender Task Force apprehended and arrested Daniel in Renton at a Burger King drive-through on Dec. 28, 2023.
Using the state’s organized retail theft statute, which enables the aggregation of a series of thefts across different jurisdictions into one count, the Attorney General’s Office filed two counts of organized retail theft in the first degree against Daniel in King County Superior Court.
The case serves as the Organized Retail Crime Unit’s second-ever felony criminal case, according to the attorney general’s office.
“If convicted, Daniel faces a prison sentence of a maximum of 10 years and a $20,000 penalty for each count,” according to the office. “The Attorney General’s Office will seek full restitution for Daniel’s thefts.”
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