Kent Police detained four Pierce County residents Sunday night, Aug. 9 after officers responded to a shoplifting report at a retail store on 104th Ave SE, according to the Kent Police Department.

Officers were dispatched at 10:50 p.m. after a store employee called 911 to report that three adult women and one adult man were grabbing merchandise, putting it into bags and carts, and heading toward the store exits, police said.

Sgts. Silas and T. Lontz arrived and saw a 29-year-old Tacoma woman leave the store carrying clothing, according to police. When she saw officers in the parking lot, she dropped the items and tried to walk away before complying with officers and being detained without further incident.

Police said a second suspect, a 24-year-old Tacoma woman, was seen passing all points of sale and exiting the first set of glass doors. After seeing officers outside, she turned around before leaving through the second set of doors and began dropping unpaid items from a large purse onto the floor, police said. She also was detained without further incident.

The two remaining suspects, a 40-year-old Tacoma woman and a 27-year-old Lakewood man, were still inside the store, according to police. They had collected clothing and passed all points of sale, but dropped the items near a counter after seeing the other suspects detained, police said.

The suspects initially denied knowing each other, but police said one later told officers they had all arrived together in the same car. Police said the vehicle contained drug paraphernalia, and one suspect said there were likely drugs inside. The vehicle was towed pending a search warrant.

Two of the suspects had warrants and were booked into SCORE, according to police.

Because of the amount of clothing involved, detectives are completing the investigation, police said.

Kent police credited Sgts. T. Lontz and Silas, and Officers Rojas and N. Lontz with responding quickly and detaining the suspects without further incident.

“It does not escape our attention that these suspects decided to travel to Kent to steal from one of our businesses,” the department said. “We prefer that they don’t steal from anyone, but if they insist on continuing, stop doing it in Kent. We will respond and arrest you.”