Griffin: ‘Organized retail crime requires an organized response, and I am proud to lead that effort in Arkansas’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement announcing several arrests in central Arkansas as a result of coordinated operations between his office, local and federal law enforcement agencies, and private-industry partners:

“Over the past month, coordinated ‘blitzes’ have resulted in 17 arrests in North Little Rock, Little Rock, and Conway of individuals involved in organized retail crime activities. These operations have also recovered stolen property. This is in addition to the multistate operation based in Blytheville my office supported earlier this year that resulted in nine arrests.

“I congratulate and thank special agents in my Special Investigations Division who have held regular meetings with law enforcement and private businesses to coordinate activities, share intelligence, and collaborate on strategies to fight this kind of crime. Organized retail crime requires an organized response, and I am proud to lead that effort in Arkansas.

“With the addition of a new, dedicated organized retail crime investigator in my Special Investigations Division, I look forward to more activity coordinated by my office to fight these crimes that cost American businesses $70 billion per year and result in a tax on consumers through higher prices for goods.”

The recent blitz was coordinated by the Office of the Attorney General and involved collaboration between the North Little Rock, Little Rock, and Conway police departments, as well as Homeland Security Investigations and 11 private-industry partners. The blitz operations occurred one day in each city, starting in North Little Rock on August 15, moving to Little Rock on August 22, and wrapping up on September 12 in Conway.

During the operations, local, state, and federal law enforcement partnered with area retail stores to target thefts and develop information related to organized retail crime. Of the 17 people arrested, eight were charged with felonies. Among the recovered stolen items was a vehicle that was returned to its owner.

Those individuals arrested are:

North Little Rock, August 15

• Myron Allen, male, 46, of North Little Rock, Felony Theft of Property and Failure to Appear
• Devin Lashawn, female, 41, of Little Rock, Theft of Property
• James Bone, male, 68, of Little Rock, Felony Theft of Property
• Elizabeth Harper, female, 42, of Little Rock, Felony Theft of Property
• Erma Johnson, female, 64, of Little Rock, Felony Theft of Property
• Sophia Hartman, female, 34, of North Little Rock, Theft of Property
• Kevin Barnes, male, 47, of North Little Rock, Theft of Property

Little Rock, August 22

• Patrick Jensen, male, 24, of Little Rock, Felony Theft of Property and Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine)
• Kiara Morning, female, 32, of Little Rock, Theft of Property
• Joshua Starns, male, 44, of Ward, Theft of Property and Possession of a Controlled Substance with Purpose to Deliver (Marijuana)
• Danny Long, male, 59, of North Little Rock, Felony Theft of Property

Conway, September 12

• Star Darksbane, female, 39, of Florence, Alabama, Theft of Property
• Stephanie Wallace, male, 38, of Florence, Alabama, Theft of Property
• Courtney Cowan, female, 43, of Russellville, Felony Theft of Property
• Lanaia Azumara-Williams, female, 18, of Conway, Theft of Property
• Angela Arnold, female, 38, of Bryant, Felony Theft of Property
• Dominique Hammonds, male, 20, of Center Ridge, Theft of Property

Griffin announced the state’s involvement with the Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama Organized Retail Crime Alliance (LAMA ORCA) in July 2023. Since its formation, ORC Task Forces have been established in Little Rock, and in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana. LAMA ORCA has partnered with local, state, and federal agencies to conduct eight blitzes throughout four states.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years and currently holds the rank of colonel. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

He is currently serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana. His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (née Bragg), North Carolina, and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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