The Brief
- Janeice Downs, a prolific organized retail theft suspect released from prison in January, was rearrested on June 12 and charged with first-degree organized retail theft for a series of high-end shoplifting incidents across Western Washington.
- Investigators linked Downs to the theft of two Louis Vuitton handbags worth over $7,000 from a Seattle Nordstrom using store surveillance, a distinctive burqa disguise, and a TikTok video of her mother holding the stolen items.
- Downs is currently being held on $215,000 bail, which includes an Oregon fugitive warrant for 16 theft-related counts, while a judge denied her attorney’s request to restrict media filming during her arraignment.
SEATTLE – A woman Bellevue police describe as one of the region’s most prolific organized retail theft suspects is back behind bars just months after being released from prison, facing new allegations that she participated in a series of high-end thefts across Western Washington.
King County prosecutors have charged Janeice Downs, also known as Janeice Smith, with organized retail theft 1s Degree.
Downs was arrested June 12 in the parking lot of Westfield Southcenter mall along with her mother, Janeice Wiley. Bellevue police say the arrest came after detectives connected Downs to multiple thefts through surveillance footage, social media posts and information shared among regional law enforcement agencies.…