Five out-of-state individuals — four men and a woman — have been charged with felony theft following last week’s alleged theft of nearly $8,000 worth of merchandise from Ulta Beauty in Prince Frederick.
The incident occurred on April 4 at approximately 4:37 p.m., according to the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the store when a call went out that a theft had occurred.
According to a sheriff’s office report, “Two males and one female entered the store and placed numerous colognes and perfumes into bags and fled the store. After fleeing the store, witnesses observed all three suspects enter a gray Mercury Montego that fled northbound on Route 4.”
According to court documents filed by Deputy Antonio Tavares, Deputy Justin MacWilliams located the Mercury traveling northbound on Route 4, which then turned onto Route 2.
MacWilliams “initiated a traffic stop in the area of Pushaw Station Road in Sunderland. During the traffic stop, five occupants were located in the suspect vehicle along with numerous bags of perfumes and colognes in plain view. The total value of the stolen items was approximately $7,694 dollars.”
In addition to the merchandise that was allegedly stolen from the Prince Frederick store, Tavares reported in charging papers that several cellphones were also confiscated.
The five arrested are identified as Yeiner Jose Rodriguez Barcelo, 27, of Bronx, N.Y., Yoncar Alberto Rainoso, 21, of Manhattan, N.Y., Estefani Andrea Urbano-Zapata, 21, of Cape Girardea, Mo., Raimil Marquez Jimenez, 25, of Washington, D.C., and Adony Josue Carana, 27, of Manhattan N.Y.
A sheriff’s office press release stated that further investigation revealed Rodriguez-Barcelo was wanted on an open warrant from Pennsylvania for felony retail theft related to thefts at Ulta stores in Pennsylvania.
Court records show Carana, who was also listed with the alias Carrano, has been released after posting $10,000 bond. As of Monday, the other four remained at the Calvert detention center on a no-bond status.
A district court hearing on the charges the five are facing is scheduled for June 3. Language interpreters have been requested for four of the five defendants, court records show.
The Prince Frederick Ulta has been the scene of similar thefts over the last three years. Other Ulta stores regionally and nationally have been targets of alleged thieves. Several national news outlets have reported allegations of a possible retail theft ring in the state of California. The alleged perpetrators there stole $8 million in cosmetics from several chains, including Ulta, and then sold the products on Amazon.
It is not known at this time if the five arrested in Calvert last week are part of a larger theft ring.
Calvert County Sheriff Ricky Cox (R) issued a note of thanks in an agency press release to “the witnesses on scene that went above and beyond to promptly call 911 and provide details of the suspects and suspects’ vehicle. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.”
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