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Westport Police say they received a call from Ulta Beauty (1365 Post Road East) reporting a potential shoplifting incident in progress on Monday, Aug. 5 around 4:45 p.m.
The caller stated that they had observed two individuals, a male and a female, that were known due to previous shoplifting attempts, police say.
Staff members began to monitor the suspects as they allegedly filled up bags with merchandise and various bottles of perfume. Both individuals then left the store without paying for the items, police say.
After receiving information about the suspects’ vehicle, police say they tried to initiate a traffic stop at the Merritt Parkway northbound at exit 42 but were unsuccessful, as the driver disregarded the signal.
The pursuit continued into Fairfield and was eventually terminated by the department.
A short time later, Westport Police say they were advised that the suspect vehicle had been stopped by Fairfield officers at the northbound Merritt Parkway rest area in Fairfield. Westport officers responded and took the three suspects into custody. The bags of stolen merchandise were also recovered and was determined to have a value of $4,779, police say.
Two of the suspects, Robert Keeshawn, 31, of New Britain and Cynphanie Merritt, 27, of Windsor, were charged with third-degree larceny and third-degree conspiracy to commit larceny.
Merritt, who police say was operating the vehicle at the time, was also charged with: Disobeying the signal of an officer/engaging in a pursuit
- Reckless driving
- Operating a motor vehicle under suspension
- Failure to maintain minimum insurance coverage
- Operating an unregistered motor vehicle
Both suspects were unable to post their $5,000 bond and were transported to Norwalk Superior Court for arraignment on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Computer checks also revealed that Merritt currently held four outstanding warrants for her arrest in the state of Connecticut, police say. Three of the warrants were for violation of probation and the fourth was for second-degree failure to appear. The total of court-set bonds for these warrants was $56,500, which Merritt was unable to post.
Merritt was also found to have an additional active warrant for her arrest held by the Manchester, New Hampshire Police Department for larceny.
Police say a juvenile suspect was also taken into custody and charged with third-degree larceny and interfering with an officer. The juvenile was also found to have an active felony arrest warrant held by the Farmington Police Department for robbery charges, according to police. She was issued a juvenile summons and turned over to Farmington officers for processing.
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