Montgomery County police charged a woman with robbing a Westfield Montgomery mall store and a Friendship Heights store and pepper-spraying employees in the process.
Police allege that Stephan Simms, 27, of Washington, D.C., along with another unknown suspect, stole $6,200 worth of sunglasses from Specs New York, a store in the Bethesda mall, on Jan. 5. When a store employee followed the suspects from the store, Simms pepper-sprayed her, according to police.
?On Dec. 5, Simms entered the ILORI store in Friendship Heights and immediately pepper-sprayed an employee there. She then stole five Chanel sunglasses, worth a total of $3,600, and fled the scene.
Police arrested Simms on Feb. 14 in Washington and extradited her to Montgomery County, where she is being held without bond.
Montgomery County police charged her with armed robbery, theft between $1,000 and $10,000 and use of a chemical device with the intent to injure.
Investigators identified Simms after receiving a tip when they released surveillance footage of the ILORI robbery on Dec. 30 and later connected her to the Specs New York robbery.
Police are still looking for the second suspect in the Westfield Montgomery robbery. Investigators released a photo of the individual and asked anyone who recognizes her to call 240-773-6710. Anonymous tipsters can call 1-866-411-TIPS for the chance of up to a $10,000 cash reward for information
that leads to an arrest or indictment.
An image of the second suspect from security footage. Credit: MCPD
