At 6:37 pm on Monday, APD patrol officers took two violent shoplifters into custody on multiple counts in the Muldoon Fred Meyers parking lot after being notified by store security guards.

According to the report, a suspect, later identified as 24-year-old Richard Leviege walked out of the Muldoon Road Fred Meyers with merchandise he did not pay for. He was followed out of the store by employees as he went to his vehicle and took out a pair of shoes and walked back into the store.

Leviege proceeded to the customer service desk to attempt to return a pair of shoes that he had retrieved from his vehicle, but was refused because of lack of a receipt. But, not to be refused, he went to the shoe section and grabbed another pair of shoes, then went to the grocery section and met up with his girlfriend and they both left the store with both pair of shoes.

When the duo left the store, they were followed out by a store security guard and another who was a hire from a third-party security company. When the security guards made contact and attempted to take Leviege back into the store he shoved one and head-butted the other and a physical altercation broke out.

During the fight, Leviege called out to his girlfriend, identified as 33-year-old Justine Smith, “to pull her gun out.” Smith reached into her purse to apparently retrieve a weapon but was stopped by a third employee who grabbed the straps of her purse to prevent her from drawing a weapon. 

All three went to the ground and Leviege attempted several times to grab a gun out of a security guard’s holster. The fight broke up when one of the security guards deployed pepper spray on Leviege, which in turn affected all involved in the altercation.

APD officers arrived as Leviege and Smith were walking to, and getting into their vehicle. They made contact and attempted to place Leviege under arrest but Leviege resisted and had to be taken to ground to be cuffed.

APD impounded the car and Smith’s purse, which was by then in the vehicle. A search warrant was applied for. APD says that at no time was a firearm actually seen.

Leviege was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant, Robbery I, Assault II, III x5, and IV as well as Resisting Arrest. Smith was charged with Robbery I and four counts of Assault III.

Both were remanded to the Anchorage Jail.

  Anchorage, arrest, assault, fred meyers, justine, leviege, muldoon, richard, robbery, shoplifting, smith