Mass Theft At Maplewood Best Buy Leads To Charges For 6

MAPLEWOOD, MN — Six people are facing theft charges after police alleged they participated in a mass “grab and run” theft in Maplewood on Black Friday 2021.

Ramsey County prosecutors on Friday charged Raymone Wright, 22; Nathaniel Spears, 27; Na’Touri Ross, 19; Shaimee Robinson-Love, 18; and two 17-year-olds with a felony count of theft.

Police allege they were part of a group of about a dozen people who entered the store around 8:10 p.m. Nov. 26 and stole $7,300 worth of high-value items, including TVs, tablets, hoverboards and other electronics.

Members of that group then “jumped into waiting cars, suggesting that the heist was organized and not random,” prosecutors said.

Wright, Spears and Robinson-Love entered the store without wearing masks, while others were wearing clothing that matched what they were seen wearing in photos on social media, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors said others were filmed participating in the mass theft but could not be identified.

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Two other mass thefts were reported the same day at Best Buy stores in Burnsville and Blaine, with a total of more than $26,000 in merchandise stolen from the three locations, according to Ramsey County prosecutors.

A similar robbery was also reported Nov. 26 at a Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Richfield.

Ramsey County prosecutors said police identified the six people who were charged through surveillance footage and social media posts, adding the investigation also revealed “evidence of an organized online enterprise fueled by these types of thefts.”

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Police received an anonymous tip that indicated Wright was the “ringleader” of the group and associated with a Facebook business page that “bragged of organized retail thefts,” according to the criminal complaint.

Prosecutors allege Wright posted about being the “first certified booster with a LLC” and the “best boosting service in Minnesota,” the complaint states.

A post on the page said no store was too big or too small, adding the “boosting” service “will dust them all,” according to the complaint.

The complaint alleges Wright also posted about a “hiring event” around Christmas, offering up to $2,000 a day, “depending on how experienced you are.”