Thieves stealing thousands of dollars worth of perfume from beauty stores

MORGANTON, N.C. — Crime rings are targeting Ulta beauty stores and it’s happening in our community.

Police in Morganton told Channel 9 that thieves have stolen thousands of dollars worth of perfume from the Ulta there. The store has been hit twice in the last month.

Investigators said the men go in acting like they’re shopping and then suddenly pull out a trash bag and steal perfume -- some of which costs more than $100 a bottle.

Public safety officers shared surveillance images of one of the thefts after someone stole nearly $3,000 worth of perfume last month.

The same store was hit on Sunday when a man grabbed nearly $7,000 worth of perfume out of a display case.

“That’s bad,” shopper Debra McElrath said. “That don’t make sense. I don’t understand why you have to go around and steal.”

Channel 9 learned that the suspect in that crime had a getaway driver and that the two wrecked on Interstate 40 after getting into a police chase.

Public safety officers charged Jeffrey Barrett with felonious larceny, and they recovered the perfume from the car.

Officers are still looking for that getaway driver, though, as well as the suspect from the earlier case.

Investigators told Channel 9 they’ve heard of similar cases in Hickory, Charlotte and Greenville, South Carolina. Police in Hickory said Barrett has been linked to a theft of more than $9,000 in perfume at an Ulta Store in Hickory on Friday.

“I think that it’s a criminal enterprise,” said Lt. Josiah Brown, Morganton Public Safety. “It’s a group of people working together that are stealing this and selling it.”

Eyewitness News reached out to Ulta about the cases but has not yet heard back.

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