A mother and daughter accused in a series of retail thefts from the same Texas sporting goods store were arrested at separate locations Thursday, according to the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office.
Leah Morales and Madison Johnson were wanted on theft warrants connected with multiple incidents at an Academy store in northwest Harris County, according to Constable Mark Herman’s office.
The constable’s office said more than $5,000 worth of merchandise was allegedly stolen during the thefts. The agency did not specify how many incidents were involved, how the total was divided between the women, or whether the two allegedly participated together in each theft.
Deputies with Precinct 4’s Special Operations Unit went looking for both women on August 27 and found them at two different locations.
Two Stops
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Deputies found Morales in the 5900 block of Guhn Road and took her into custody without incident, according to the constable’s office.
Johnson was located separately at a residence in the 1400 block of Alliance Street and was also arrested without incident.
Both women were then booked into the Harris County Jail on outstanding theft warrants.
Constable Mark Herman described the underlying allegations as organized retail theft, saying such cases hurt businesses and increase costs for customers.
“Organized retail theft hurts local businesses and drives up costs for everyone in our community,” Herman said. “Our deputies will continue working diligently to identify, locate, and arrest those responsible for these crimes.”
The agency’s public statement, however, identifies the women’s warrants only as theft warrants and does not specify that either woman was formally charged under Texas’ separate organized retail theft statute.
Cases Pending
Precinct 4 said Morales’ and Johnson’s cases were assigned to the 176th and 338th district courts.
At the time of the constable’s August 27 announcement, bonds had not yet been set.
A search of publicly indexed Harris County District Clerk records did not surface enough defendant-specific information Friday to independently establish updated bond or release statuses, so the constable’s initial custody information is not being presented as current beyond the time of its announcement.
The allegations remain pending in court.