ST. GEORGE — Three individuals suspected of running a criminal conspiracy were arrested after a search of their vehicle revealed thousands of cans of baby formula reportedly stolen from various stores.
Officers were dispatched Saturday to a retail theft reported at Walmart on Telegraph in Washington City.
Upon arrival, officers learned that on Friday, a suspect was captured on the store’s surveillance camera taking several containers of baby formula and exiting the store without paying for the items, which had a combined value of $142.
Later that same day, officers conducted a traffic stop on a white SUV and inside they found “thousands of dollars worth of baby formula.” One of the suspects was identified as Chase Odell, 33, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and matched the suspect involved in the theft at the Walmart in Washington City, police say.
Odell also was charged with conspiracy to commit retail theft, since he was in a vehicle with two other individuals, one of whom was suspected of stealing baby formula from a department store by concealing it in their clothing.
During a search of Odell, officers recovered five identification cards that appeared to be fraudulent. When asked how many fake IDs he had, Odell reportedly said he had two. Officers told him they found three additional cards that appeared to be created “with the purpose to defraud.”
Officers ran a criminal history check, which indicated Odell had an outstanding warrant issued out of Centerville that was still active.
Odell was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility facing multiple charges, including five third-degree felony counts of forgery, as well as one count of misdemeanor theft and an open container charge for an open alcoholic beverage reportedly sitting near him in the vehicle.
Washington City Police Sgt. Tyson Dove told St. George News there were two other suspects involved in the scheme, including Deundra Demarko Milhouse, 36, of Alabama, who was arrested after police received a call reporting a person running from loss prevention agents at the same Walmart in Washington City.
The suspect reportedly ran through the parking lot, got into a vehicle and fled. This was the same vehicle that was stopped minutes later that led to Odell’s arrest. Milhouse was sitting in the front seat of the SUV. Police say there were so many containers of baby formula in the vehicle that they took up the entire back seat and were spilling into the cargo area.
“This was not normal,” the officer wrote in the report.
Officers also recovered several gift cards on Milhouse that were from the same store the baby formula was taken from.
Dove said the third suspect, Crystal Shareese Johnson, 39, of Downey, California, was arrested during the traffic stop late Friday evening based on surveillance footage that was collected from the store that showed a woman matching the suspect’s description reportedly concealing several cans of baby formula and then bypassing all points of sale and exiting the store, the report states.
In all, 299 containers of baby formula valued at nearly $5,300 was recovered by police.
When the charges were filed against Odell on Monday, the theft charge was enhanced to a second-degree felony, and a misdemeanor criminal conspiracy charge was added. An initial appearance has been scheduled in the case that will take place on Wednesday in St. George.
Milhouse, a semi-truck driver from Alabama with reportedly no ties to Utah, was also transported to jail in Washington County. On Monday, he was charged with second-degree felony theft and one third-degree felony count of criminal conspiracy. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance in court in St. George on Wednesday.
The third suspect, Johnson, was booked into jail on what was initially submitted as a misdemeanor retail theft charge that was later enhanced to a second-degree felony theft charge. She also faces one felony count of criminal conspiracy. The case has yet to be scheduled for a hearing.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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