Bail has been set at $50,000 for a Tacoma man accused of stealing over $8,000 in merchandise from the Nike outlet store in Centralia between July 9 and Sept. 17.
The suspect, identified as Roy Lynn Brown, 42, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at about 4:45 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17, after officers with the Centralia Police Department stopped Brown’s vehicle as it was fleeing the outlet store’s parking lot in the 100 block of West High Street.
Brown was arrested alongside an “accomplice,” who was not facing charges related to the thefts in Lewis County Superior Court as of Monday, Sept. 18.
Brown is accused of shoplifting merchandise from the Nike outlet in Centralia eight times since July 2023: on July 9, July 10, July 11, July 13, Aug. 1, Aug. 2, Sept. 6 and Sept. 17, according to court documents.
On each occasion, Brown allegedly stole between $805 and $2,779 worth of merchandise by selecting boxes of footwear and apparel, placing them into shopping bags and trash bags then exiting the store without paying.
The store’s loss prevention manager reported the initial four shoplifting incidents on July 13, at which time the suspect had not been unidentified.
The suspect was identified as Brown following the Aug. 1 incident, according to court documents.
Brown was reportedly taken into custody in Oregon on Aug. 2 for allegedly shoplifting from a Nike store in North Bend, according to court documents. At the time, Nike’s loss prevention manager told an investigating Centralia police officer “Mr. Brown is believed to have a running total of nearly $50,000 in thefts from Nike stores in Western Washington.”
Brown allegedly returned to the Centralia Nike store with an accomplice on Sept. 6, when he allegedly stole $979.88 in merchandise while the accomplice took $209.97 in merchandise.
Just after 5:25 p.m. on Sept. 17, Centralia Nike staff called the Centralia Police Department to report Brown was currently shoplifting from the store.
Officers responded and observed a silver Mercedes traveling westbound through the parking lot that officers believed Brown was a passenger in, according to court documents. One officer initiated a traffic stop while another “cut off” the Mercedes, stopping the vehicle.
At that time, Brown and the vehicle’s driver, who is suspected to be the accomplice in the Sept. 6 theft, were taken into custody.
Officers later executed a search warrant on the vehicle and recovered $1,254.85 in stolen Nike merchandise, according to court documents.
Brown was charged Monday, Sept. 17, in Lewis County Superior Court with six counts of second-degree theft and one count of second-degree organized retail theft. Each charge is a class C felony carrying a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.
Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson requested $75,000 bail for Brown on Monday due to Brown’s criminal history, which includes robbery and organized retail theft convictions, and the alleged facts of the case.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller advised Monday that Brown was financially unable to post that high amount and asked Judge James Lawler to set a lower bail, citing Brown’s agreement to follow release conditions that include no contact with any Nike stores.
Lawler ruled Brown’s criminal history posed a community safety risk and opted to set bail at $50,000.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 21
