Photo: the knives they brandished
EMERYVILLE — A pair of prolific petty thieves—in and out of jail—upped their crime game. This time they got arrested for armed robbery. A witness directed police to a nearby homeless encampment to arrest them.
Their latest trip to county jail happened shortly after employees at Ulta Beauty reported being robbed. This cosmetics store located at 3839 Emery Street was hit on June 28.
At approximately 7:20 p.m., store employees confronted two individuals who were stealing merchandise. They backed off when the thieves brandished knives.
Not in any great hurry, both thieves calmly walked away while being followed by a witness. They ducked inside a tent on the 3500 block of Peralta Street, a short distance away in Oakland.
The witness pointed out their location to responding Emeryville officers. Despite a mess inside the tent, officers located and recovered the knives suspected of being used in the robbery.
The suspects arrested are well acquainted with law enforcement. Shavonna M. Johnson, 29, was arrested first, followed by the arrest of Lamonte Hardman, 47. Both are presently being housed at Santa Rita Jail.
Johnson faces charges for second degree robbery, petty theft and theft of personal property. Bail for Johnson was set at $150,000, and she was already on probation. Her rap sheet details 33 previous arrests, including numerous petty thefts.
Her sidekick, Hardman faces charges for second degree robbery, petty theft, resisting an officer and parole violation. Hardman has 32 prior arrests on his record, mostly for petty thefts and drug possession. Bail for Hardman was denied.
