State charges shoplifting suspect in thefts from 28 beauty supply stores, including 1 in Whatcom County

BELLINGHAM, Wash. —Today, February 14th, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office Organized Retail Crime Unit announced charges have been filed against a Maple Valley woman. The charges are the result of “a string of organized retail thefts in western Washington.”

Shellonda Keychell Daniel, age 26, was charged in King County Superior Court with 2 felony counts of first-degree organized retail theft.

The criminal charges stem from thefts from 28 Ulta stores in King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston and Whatcom counties totaling more than $200,000. The thefts ranged from individual store losses of $1,042 to $19,459. While the alleged thefts occurred in multiple jurisdictions, the state Organized Retail Theft statute allows the Attorney General to aggregate them and file the charges in one county.
If convicted, Daniel faces a prison sentence of a maximum of 10 years and a $20,000 penalty for each count. The Attorney General’s Office will seek full restitution for Daniel’s thefts.
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The affidavit of probable cause asserts Daniel made physical and verbal threats to employees and managers. In some cases, she would openly display a can of bear spray toward employees or customers who got close to her or her accomplices, then threaten to spray it on them. Washington State Attorney General’s Office (February 14, 2024)

Store surveillance video of a shoplifting incident in a beauty supply store. Source: Lynnwood Police Department

In January of 2023, Ulta Store Field Investigator Chelsea Tower (Tower) requested the assistance of the AGO’s Criminal Justice Division regarding a series of retail thefts believed to have been committed by Shellonda K. Daniel. Tower provided Ulta Corporation (Ulta) video and other documentation showing Daniel and accomplices committing multiple organized retail thefts at Ulta Beauty stores located in Thurston, Pierce, King, Kitsap, Snohomish and Whatcom counties. Affidavit for probable cause to arrest filed in King County Superior Court (February 12, 2024)

Daniel was arrested by the Snohomish County Violent Offender Task Force with assistance of the Lynnwood Police Department on December 29, 2023.