Women Shot By San Mateo Police Had Committed String Of Thefts: PD

SAN MATEO, CA — The two women shot and injured by a San Mateo police officer during a pursuit last month had recently committed a series of thefts around Southern California and the Bay Area, according to a police investigation into the shooting.

San Mateo police on Friday shared more details about the events leading up to the Sept. 28 shooting of two women who police believed were driving a stolen car, and also released a video of the shooting that includes body camera footage and dispatch audio.

"We feel it is important to provide as much information as possible to the community on our critical incidents, as soon as the investigations allow," San Mateo police said on Friday. "We are releasing the following video which contains body-worn camera footage, dispatch audio, and other relevant material in this incident."

You can find the full footage here if you wish to view it, but it is marked for "mature" audiences.

The updates come as part of the police department's investigation into the women's alleged crimes — one of three investigations that began following the shooting. Separately, the department is also investigating whether the officer properly followed police procedures, and the San Mateo County District Attorney's office is investigating the officer's use of force.

According to the police department, the two women had flown from Philadelphia to Los Angeles on Sept. 26 and drove to Northern California in a rented Chevrolet Malibu, using a stolen license plate registered to a Honda in Anaheim.

In the two days leading up to the shooting, the women committed thefts in at least 11 locations in Southern California and the Bay Area — at least 9 of which were shopping malls or retail stores, according to police.

According to the investigation, the women stole a temporary license plate from a car in Walnut Creek on Sept. 27 and committed multiple thefts in San Jose and Palo Alto the next day before they arrived at Hillsdale Shopping Center — the site of the shooting. Cameras at the shopping center captured the women stealing another woman's wallet and using her credit card, among other thefts, police said.

A San Mateo police officer spotted the women's Chevrolet Malibu parked illegally in a handicap spot while the suspects were inside the shopping center and found that its license plate belonged to a Honda in Anaheim, police said.

Just as the women were returning to their car, the officer requested backup and then tried to stop the Chevrolet as it was leaving the shopping center. The women did not stop, starting a pursuit during which police say the women threw credit cards out of their car and hit a parked car on E Hillsdale Boulevard.

At 5:19 p.m., police followed the women's car into a cul-de-sac. The women then drove toward a police car and reversed toward an officer on foot, according to police. The officer on foot fired at the two suspects inside the car, hitting them both.

The officers called paramedics and performed medical care on the women, who were later hospitalized.

The two suspects — Rickita James, 30, of Newark, Delaware and Taleah Johnson, 27, of Philadelphia — were arrested on several charges, but the district attorney's office has deferred the charges until its investigation into the officer's use of force is complete.

The officer was placed on leave pending the district attorney's investigation.

Charges for James include being a felon in possession of a stun gun, burglary, identity theft and shoplifting. Charges for Johnson include burglary, possession of stolen property, identity theft and shoplifting, police said.

The police department's investigation into the officer's conduct is ongoing, police said. Police detectives may also bring new charges based on the suspects' alleged crimes before the shooting.