SEAL BEACH, CA— A trio of women arrested in Seal Beach, California after allegedly shoplifting about $650 of merchandise from an Ulta Beauty store has made national headlines over the Christmas holiday after video of their arrest went viral. The three women, Destiny Bender, 24, and Deanna Hines, 24, of Long Beach, and Michelle Pitts, 26, from Signal Hill expressed a great deal of surprise when they learned that under the newly enacted Proposition 36, they are looking at felony charges.
As reported by Fox News, video surveillance from Ulta showed the three women allegedly browsing the shelves and exiting without paying for hundreds of beauty products. Another video obtained by police shows the team giving a nearby Kohl’s location the same treatment, walking out with almost $1,000 in stolen merchandise. The suspects were apprehended after a brief chase.
In the now viral bodycam footage, one woman asks another in disbelief “It’s a felony?” To which the other answers, “B**** new laws.”
"Stealing is a felony and this Orange County bitch. They don’t play."
In an Instagram reel sharing the story, and tallying the stolen goods as the women went, Seal Beach Police offered, “a friendly reminder that Proposition 36, which increases punishments for some retail theft and drug possession offenses, went into effect Wednesday morning in California.”
The authorities explained that Prop 36, “undoes some of the changes voters made with a 2014 ballot measure that turned certain nonviolent felonies into misdemeanors, effectively shortening prison sentences and leading to a spike in retail theft and crime.”
As reported by Fox News, video surveillance from Ulta showed the three women allegedly browsing the shelves and exiting without paying for hundreds of beauty products. Another video obtained by police shows the team giving a nearby Kohl’s location the same treatment, walking out with almost $1,000 in stolen merchandise. The suspects were apprehended after a brief chase.
In the now viral bodycam footage, one woman asks another in disbelief “It’s a felony?” To which the other answers, “B**** new laws.”
"Stealing is a felony and this Orange County bitch. They don’t play."
In an Instagram reel sharing the story, and tallying the stolen goods as the women went, Seal Beach Police offered, “a friendly reminder that Proposition 36, which increases punishments for some retail theft and drug possession offenses, went into effect Wednesday morning in California.”
The authorities explained that Prop 36, “undoes some of the changes voters made with a 2014 ballot measure that turned certain nonviolent felonies into misdemeanors, effectively shortening prison sentences and leading to a spike in retail theft and crime.”
“Bitch, New Laws” 🎥 credit to @SealBeachPolice pic.twitter.com/xunYSO7aiv
— Susan Collins for L.A. (@CollinsCity) December 23, 2024
The department concluded in its post, “Here in Seal Beach we never believed in the cite and release program, but this new proposition only strengthens our commitment to combatting Organized Retail Theft. Remember folks, Don’t Steal in Seal.”
Per Fox News, the women were booked into the Orange County Jail on charges of Grand Theft, Conspiracy to Commit a Crime, and Resisting Arrest. The former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, a known beneficiary of funding from George Soros, supported the 2014 Proposition 47 which downgraded the majority of theft charges from felonies to misdemeanors for merchandise valued under $950 with some exceptions for prior convictions. With the election of Nathan Hochman in November coupled with the voter approval of Prop 36, the situation in Los Angeles County could be changing. For corrections or revisions, click here.
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