BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — A Margate woman accused of repeatedly stealing from South Florida retailers is back in custody after police linked her to a months-long series of thefts in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach.
Tatyana Shavone Johnson, 24, of Margate, was arrested on October 31, 2025, when members of the South Florida Criminal Apprehension Unit and the Boynton Beach Police Department confronted her outside the Dick’s Sporting Goods at 515 North Congress Avenue.
According to the arrest report, officers had been watching Johnson’s maroon Kia sedan, which had been identified in multiple retail theft investigations stretching from Boca Raton to Coconut Creek. Detectives saw her park the car, enter the store, and select a large quantity of clothing before walking past all registers without paying.
Agents stopped her outside and recovered about $655 worth of unpaid merchandise. Johnson was taken into custody without incident and charged with petit retail theft and driving while license suspended, according to police reports.
That arrest came after two open felony investigations by the Boca Raton Police Department, both involving Bloomingdale’s at Town Center at Boca Raton.
In those cases, loss prevention officers told detectives they had video showing Johnson entering the store on separate dates — September 30 and October 4 — wearing similar clothing and using a brown paper bag to conceal high-end handbags. The reports state the items were valued at $1,601.79 and $1,455.20, respectively.
Detectives said the same Kia sedan seen at Dick’s Sporting Goods was also captured on mall surveillance cameras during the Bloomingdale’s incidents. When questioned by BRPD Detective Michael Lamia, Johnson at first denied being in the photos but later identified herself and admitted selling the stolen merchandise “for half its value,” according to the affidavit.
Court records show Johnson now faces a total of six pending charges across the related cases:
- 812.014(2C1) – Grand Theft Retail (two counts)
- 812.014(3C) – Grand Theft with Two Prior Convictions
- 812.014(2F) – Petit Retail Theft
- 812.014(2F) – Petit Theft
- 322.34(2A) – Driving While License Suspended
Following her Boynton Beach arrest, Johnson was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail, where records list her current charges as:
- Larceny – Petit Theft Merchandise/Farm/Transit 2+ Prior Convictions
- Larceny – Petit Theft Merchandise/Farm/Transit $100–$750
She remains held at the Main Detention Center with a total bond of $10,000.
Investigators in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, and Coconut Creek continue coordinating their cases. All incidents, according to police reports, involved the same vehicle, similar methods, and the same suspect.
If convicted, the combination of prior theft convictions and felony enhancements could expose Johnson to prison time under Florida’s repeat offender statute.
