Police arrest pair after thousands of dollars of cologne stolen from east Wichita store
A Wichita man and woman were taken into custody after police found thousands of dollars of stolen merchandise inside a home Tuesday night.
Gia Leininger, 20, and Jacob Villarreal, 29, were arrested on suspicion of felony theft, police spokesman Chad Ditch said in news release.
Around 7:55 p.m. on Tuesday, officers with patrol east and larceny detectives were working recent high-dollar thefts in the area of Kellogg and Rock Road.
Loss prevention staff at Ulta Beauty in Eastgate Plaza called officers and said that about $6,000 worth of cologne was “just stolen from the store,” Ditch said.
Officers learned that a black 2021 Dodge Charger was involved in the theft and were able notify west patrol officers of the car’s location. West patrol officers spotted the vehicle in the 500 block of South Eisenhower, and Leininger and Villarreal were seen running from the Charger and into a house. The home belonged to someone they knew, Ditch said.
Officers obtained a search warrant and found the cologne as well as several items from other high-end thefts, including clothing that still had anti-theft alarms, the release read.