A Miami mother already wrapped up in a headline‑grabbing child abuse case is back in jail, this time accused of helping run an organized retail theft crew that allegedly hit Ulta Beauty stores across South Florida. Pinecrest police say their latest case centers on a November grab‑and‑go job in which dozens of fragrance bottles vanished from a local shop. The new grand theft charge stacks on top of a 2024 Hialeah case that drew national outrage after officers said the same woman pushed her then‑1‑year‑old out of a moving vehicle.
Investigators identified the suspects as 31‑year‑old Tasshay Mills and 33‑year‑old Jessica Lidia Duarte. Pinecrest officers say the Ulta at 11751 S. Dixie Highway was hit for “multiple bottles of assorted perfumes” worth nearly $3,000, according to Local 10. Records show Mills was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $2,500 bond. Police say Duarte was arrested in January in connection with the same investigation, though she does not currently appear in Miami‑Dade jail logs.
Past Abuse Case Back In Spotlight
The fresh arrest has thrown a spotlight back on the Hialeah case from Sept. 5, 2024, when officers say Mills snapped after a child spilled shampoo, beat the toddler and shoved her onto the roadway near Northwest 37th Avenue and 54th Street before driving off, then later snatched the girl back from a Good Samaritan, as reported by WSVN. Police eventually tracked Mills to Miramar, and the child was taken to Jackson Health North. Child abuse and neglect charges from that incident remain pending.
Cops Say Ulta Hits Spanned Multiple Cities
Detectives told Pinecrest officers that Mills and Duarte later targeted other Ulta locations in Pembroke Pines, Davie, Fort Lauderdale and Deerfield Beach, and both women now face a grand theft charge in Miami‑Dade tied to the Pinecrest case, according to Local 10. Pinecrest police said they made “numerous” attempts to find Mills before her latest booking and that one of her open warrants originated in another jurisdiction.
What This Means Legally…