Police converge at Francis Scott Key Mall during shoplifting in progress
Frederick VA Oct 29 2017 A man and woman were charged after county sheriff’s deputies responded to a shoplifting complaint early Tuesday evening at Francis Scott Key Mall.
Employees at the Victoria’s Secret in the mall called police at about 6 p.m. when a sales associate noticed five women taking items of clothing from the store’s racks and putting them in several orange Nike brand bags they were carrying, according to charging documents. When employees confronted the women, three ran deeper into the mall and the other two ran in the opposite direction, the documents state.
As deputies were converging on the mall, a security guard caught up with the women as they met with a man driving a white Volvo SUV outside the entrance to J.C. Penney, the documents state.
As the guard watched, four of the women got into the SUV with the man behind the wheel and left the fifth woman in the parking lot, the documents state. The fifth woman ran toward Spectrum Drive when the SUV drove straight toward the security guard, forcing him to jump out of the way.
In minutes, deputies arrived and found the fifth woman, later identified as 28-year-old Sharnell Q. Williams, near the Tilted Kilt restaurant, according to the documents. Williams was still carrying three of the Nike bags, and deputies recovered $805.91 in stolen Victoria’s Secret merchandise.
Williams, of the 3400 block of Piedmont Avenue in Baltimore, told police she steals from stores such as Victoria’s Secret to support her two children by selling the stolen goods to a friend, the documents state.
As deputies were taking Williams into custody, several other deputies saw a man matching the description of the one seen driving the SUV walking in the same area, apparently looking for Williams, the documents state. Timothy Terrell Brown was arrested after a short foot chase, according to the documents.
The other four women remained at large as of Wednesday, the charging documents state.
Williams, who initially provided deputies with a false name, was ultimately charged with making false statements to police and theft from $100 to $1,500, according to court records. Williams was released from the Frederick County Adult Detention Center on $6,000 bail as of Wednesday afternoon.
Brown, 22, of the 1700 block of North Pulaski Street in Baltimore, was charged with first-degree assault. He is accused of driving the SUV that nearly struck the mall security guard, court records indicate. Brown remained held without bail as of Wednesday afternoon.
