A woman suspected in multiple retail thefts in San Francisco was arrested last week after she was pulled off an airplane in Hawaii, authorities said Wednesday.
Denayaha Duree was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals in Honolulu as she got off the plane on Feb. 14, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) said.
"The long arm of the law extended to the beautiful islands of Hawaii this week," said SFPD Chief Bill Scott. "I want to commend the diligent work of our officers who did extraordinary work on this case. I also want to thank the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Office of Correctional Safety and the United States Marshall Service for their assistance in this case."
Police became aware of Duree when officers were alerted to a theft at the Stonestown Galleria Mall on Jan. 29. Mall employees said two females entered their store and took items from the display cases and put them in their bags.
The suspects fled when an employee confronted them and were last seen getting into a vehicle in the mall parking lot, police said.
An investigator with SFPD's Burglary Unit, of the Organized Retail Crime Task Force recognized one of the suspects as Duree, who had been previously arrested for retail theft, police said.
On Valentine's Day, authorities learned that she had boarded a flight to Hawaii. They were notified later that day that she had been arrested for multiple outstanding warrants as she exited the plane.
Charges for Duree are pending her extradition from Hawaii. She is also suspected in connection with two organized retail thefts in May 2023 at two luxury brand stores in downtown San Francisco, police said.
