The arrest of two women for stealing several pairs of Ugg brand boots at Clackamas Town Center this week led to a larger, multi-agency bust of an organized retail theft ring, police said.
Two women, later identified as 29-year-old Felicia Lucille Pelote, of Vancouver, and 25-year-old Erianna Love Jones, of Gresham, left the mall in a gray Dodge Magnum with Washington license plates, deputies said.
Deputies responded and found the car parked in front of Nordstrom Rack across the street. It was empty with the engine still running.
The deputies waited a few minutes, then swooped in once the women walked out of the store and returned to the car. Jones was allegedly carrying a used Nike shopping bag filled with boots that had just been stolen from Nordstrom Rack.
Through the car windows, deputies could see several boxes of Ugg boots that had apparently been stolen from Dick’s. They also allegedly discovered stolen clothing in the car with price tags and security devices still attached. Police said both women admitted to shoplifting.
Police later interviewed the two women at the Clackamas County Jail and now suspect that they played a role in an organized ring that initiated several November and December thefts in Tigard, Salem and Beaverton.
Targeted stores in those cases include Ulta and Dick’s Sporting Goods, with the total amount of merchandise stolen estimated at well over $10,000.
Anyone with information on criminal activity by Erianna Jones and Felicia Pelote is urged to contact the sheriff’s office tip line by phone at 503-723-4949 or by using the online email form. Please reference case no. 20-026105.
