Photo: Stock Image
On the night of July 31st, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department deputies attached to the Ojai Patrol Station were alerted to a brazen theft of merchandise in progress at a local area Rite Aid drug store. According to VCSD spokesman Sgt. Scott Reeder, the citizen who witnessed the female suspect as she “filled several bags with store merchandise” and then reported it to 911 Emergency Dispatch, watched as she alighted into a waiting vehicle occupied by two other women.
As the suspect vehicle drove off, the reporting witness “followed the suspect vehicle” and continued to report the license plate, vehicle description, and “direction of travel” taken by the getaway car. While following at a distance, the witness observed the suspects “throwing items out the window” as they attempted to make good their escape.
Ojai patrol units then began a pursuit of the suspect vehicle in a chase that traversed the Ojai Valley and extended into the City of Ventura. Concurrently, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) was informed and strategically deployed spike strips to obstruct the pursued vehicle’s route of travel. The suspect vehicle was quickly brought to a halt, whereupon all three suspects fled on foot. With collaborative assistance from CHP and the Ventura Police Department, the suspects were soon located and apprehended in the vicinity of Valentine Rd. and Highway 101.
Taken into custody were 20-year-old Covina resident Miracle Beaudion, 21-year-old Los Angeles resident Trejour Heard, and 22-year-old San Pedro resident Kayla Stark. The subsequent search of their vehicle led to the discovery of more than $6,000 worth of stolen merchandise, all purloined from multiple Rite Aid stores in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
All three women were transported to Ventura County Jail, where they were charged with organized retail theft, conspiracy, resisting arrest, and felony evading, with their bail amounts unspecified.
