OPELIKA, Ala. — Two men accused of stealing thousands of dollars in fragrances from an Opelika Ulta store—and over $37,000 in merchandise nationwide—have been arrested, the Opelika Police Department confirmed.
The theft occurred on October 3, 2025, at the Ulta Beauty on Enterprise Drive, where the suspects walked out with more than $2,000 in high-end fragrances. Surveillance footage released by Opelika Police prompted a public tip-off.
Investigators later determined the theft was part of a larger pattern. Both men were previously known to Ulta Loss Prevention and were suspected of committing similar retail thefts across multiple states, totaling roughly $37,000 in stolen beauty products.
With help from agencies across the southern U.S. and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Atlanta, the suspects were identified as 18-year-old Willy Jesus Diaz-Pelayo and 22-year-old Maikol Eduardo Garcia-Sanchez, both from Stone Mountain, Georgia.
On December 1, HSI Atlanta notified Opelika detectives that the pair had been located in Miami, Florida. The Miami Police Department arrested them on multiple felony warrants tied to thefts nationwide.
HSI will now coordinate the extradition of Diaz-Pelayo and Garcia-Sanchez to Alabama to face charges in Opelika.
