Women snatch high-end sunglasses from SLO store, arrested

October 6, 2023

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A pair of Bay Area women allegedly stole more than $44,000 worth of merchandise from Sunglass Hut in San Luis Obispo on Wednesday, and then fled on Highway 101, where law enforcement personnel eventually tracked them down.

Shortly before 3 p.m., the two women walked into the Sunglass Hut located at 883 Higuera Street in downtown SLO and placed high-end sunglasses into their bags. The women then quickly fled, according to the San Luis Obispo Police Department.

Police broadcasted a description of the suspects and their vehicle to the patrol team, but they were not able to locate the suspects. 

The police department then issued a “be on the lookout” alert to surrounding law enforcement agencies. About 30 minutes later, a CHP officer spotted the suspects’ vehicle traveling northbound on Highway 101 near Highway 46. 

CHP officers and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputies stopped the vehicle on Highway 101 near San Miguel.  SLO detectives came to the scene and identified the suspects as 22-year-old Akaija Msheabeverli Elder of Fairfield and 19-year-old Maiya Korrin Green of Valejo. 

Officers recovered the sunglasses and arrested the women.

Authorities booked Elder and Green in San Luis Obispo County Jail on charges of felony grand theft and felony organized retail theft. The SLO County Sheriff’s Office website does not currently list either woman as being in custody.