A Bellevue mother and her notorious shoplifting daughter couldn’t resist the urge to show off their latest score — two Louis Vuitton handbags worth more than $7,000 ripped off from a downtown Seattle Nordstrom.
The pair got nailed after posting videos of the stolen designer goods online, including one set to Yung Miami’s viral track “Spend Dat,” a song literally about boosting and scamming. Police say the social media flex basically handed them the case on a silver platter.
Janeice Downs, 26, also known as Janeice Smith or “Punchy,” was arrested June 12 along with her mother, Janeice Wiley, in the parking lot of the Westfield Southcenter mall. Downs had only been out of prison since January after serving time for a massive organized retail theft ring that allegedly swiped more than $500,000 worth of merchandise, mostly Lululemon, across multiple states.
According to Bellevue police and FOX 13 Seattle reporting, the Nordstrom heist went down around June 6. Surveillance video shows Downs, disguised in a burqa, and an accomplice distracting staff before making off with the luxury bags.
Just days later, Wiley posted a TikTok video proudly holding up the two stolen purses while the “Spend Dat” beat played in the background. Downs had also flashed the bags on her own Instagram.
What kind of low-IQ move is that? Filming yourself with the literal evidence of a felony, slapping a song about scamming on it, and hitting “post” for the entire internet, including detectives, to see. These two geniuses apparently thought their little haul was too 'fire' to keep quiet. Instead, they turned themselves into the easiest case of the year for cops.
The video the mother posted shows her smiling and posing with the black and beige Louis Vuitton bags in what looks like a home setting. Combined with store footage and the Instagram posts, investigators had everything they needed to connect the dots fast.
Downs now faces first-degree organized retail theft charges and is being held on $215,000 bail. That amount also covers an outstanding warrant from Oregon for 16 additional theft-related counts. Her mother was released after posting $50,000 bond.
This isn’t Downs’ first rodeo. She was part of a prolific theft crew busted in 2024 that allegedly hit stores across Washington, Oregon, and California for hundreds of thousands in high-end goods. Getting out of prison and immediately going back to the same game, then documenting it on social media, takes a special kind of stupidity.
