SMITH COUNTY, Texas — A second woman has been arrested in connection with a large-scale theft operation that allegedly stole over $400,000 worth of Lego products from stores across multiple states, including East Texas.
Erica Johnson was arrested by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday. Johnson is named as a co-conspirator in the criminal activities of a theft ring that targeted several major retail chains across the United States. This arrest follows the January 9th apprehension of Semetric Danielle Baker, who, along with others, was charged with stealing from Walmart and Target stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, and Pennsylvania, including locations in Longview, Tyler, Kilgore, and Gun Barrel City.
The theft ring was initially exposed after the December 6th arrest of Brian Fleming, who is believed to have been working in tandem with Shane Joel Gentry, arrested on November 21st. Gentry reportedly sold the stolen items on platforms such as eBay and Amazon. According to an arrest record, he even submitted an invoice to Amazon for the items he sold, purportedly from Fleming.
Fleming and another suspect were caught on surveillance footage in a Walmart store’s Lego aisle before purchasing several low-cost items from a different aisle. Once they left, other members, including Johnson and Baker, would enter the same store, pick out an equivalent number of Lego sets, and alter their receipts to reflect the correct prices for the Legos, despite the original SKU numbers still being associated with the inexpensive items.
This sophisticated method of theft netted the criminal group more than $400,000 worth of products, primarily Legos, before being discovered. Johnson now faces charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and theft of property valued at more than $300,000. She has been booked into the Smith County Jail and is awaiting further legal proceedings.
