3 arrested for $30,000 luxury handbag theft in Glendale

Three women were arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars worth of designer handbags from a Glendale mall on Wednesday.

The suspects were identified as:

– Reality Leavens, 18, from Renton, Washington
– Janeice Downs, 23, from Seattle, Washington
– Memory Yearby, 26, from Seattle, Washington

Glendale officers on e-bikes were patrolling on Colorado Street near The Americana at Brand when they noticed a vehicle without license plates obstructing traffic in the area.

After pulling the vehicle over, officers found burglary tools inside the car, along with several stolen designer handbags with price tags attached. The estimated value of the bags was around $30,000, police said.

A photo from the scene showed some of the stolen goods that included several Dior handbags including:
– A small black Lady D-Joy bag worth around $4,900
– A medium Dior essential tote bag worth around $5,000
– A small pink Lady D-Joy bag with pearl embroidery worth around $7,700

Stolen Dior handbags and suspects' SUV pictured after three women were arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars worth of goods from a Glendale mall on August 16, 2023. (Glendale Police Department) — Stolen Dior handbags and suspects’ SUV are pictured after three women were arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars worth of goods from a Glendale mall on August 16, 2023. (Glendale Police Department)

A police photo also showed a Nordstrom shopping bag placed on top of the suspects’ vehicle, although it’s unclear whether the stolen purses were taken from that store.

When questioned, all three suspects denied ownership of the bags and no purchase receipts were found, authorities said.

At least one suspect was discovered to be on felony probation for theft. Mall security told police they recognized the women from previous thefts.

The suspects were arrested on charges of receiving stolen property and possession of burglary tools.

This arrest follows a string of flash mob robberies taking place across Southern California over the past few weeks including at a Norstrom at the Westfield Topanga mall, a YSL store at the Americana at Brand in Glendale, a luxury denim store in Hancock Park, a Gucci store at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and a Nike store in East L.A. and a store in Huntington Beach.

On Thursday, six thieves involved in the Nike robbery were arrested, along with the first suspect in the YSL robberies and three suspects in the Huntington Beach robberies.