Belk loss prevention tackles, fights with alleged shoplifter

An accused shoplifter upped the charge to robbery after police say she attempted to force her way past a Belk loss prevention officer before she was tackled at the door Saturday night.

Erica L. Ragland, 18, of Las Vegas, Nevada, is facing charges of second-degree robbery and engaging in organized crime after Corbin Police say she, and two other women, identified as Allcia Ragland and Shay Ragland, loaded $1,572 in Nike and Polo brand merchandise into a cart and then attempted to run out the front door.

“Loss prevention agent Camden Carter attempted to stop all there. Two females go by him. He tacked one female after she tried running through him. The female then put up a brief fight and then gave up,” Corbin Police Officer Jeff Hill wrote in the arrest citation adding that a magnet used to remove the security tags from the merchandise was found in Erica Ragland’s pocket.

Corbin Police Lt. Coy Wilson, the department’s public affairs officer, said Hill charged Erica Ragland with engaging in organized crime because there were multiple individuals involved.

“We have not heard of them hitting any other stores, but we don’t believe this is an isolated incident,” Wilson said adding police have several leads and are attempting to locate the other women.

While Erica Ragland’s driver’s license identified her as a Nevada resident, Wilson said she told police that she had recently moved to the Lexington area where her sisters lived.

“We have contacted Lexington Police in an effort to locate them,” Wilson said.

Erica Ragland was lodged in the Knox County Detention Center. On Monday, she was transferred to the Leslie County Detention Center where she is being held on a $10,000 cash bond.