Editor’s note: Above video is a report from July 2020 before the second suspect was arrested
SPOKANE, Wash. – The second female suspect in a robbery that ended in the assault of a Plato's Closet employee in Spokane has been arrested, Spokane County Sheriff's Cpl. Mark Gregory said on Friday.
The robbery occurred at Plato's Closet on North Division Street on June 29, 2020, according to the sheriff's office. Authorities said the two female suspects "violently assaulted" the employee who tried to stop them from stealing several hundred dollars in merchandise.
When the employee ran after the robbery suspects to confront them, one of the suspects began to assault her before the second woman joined in, authorities said.
Surveillance video released by the sheriff's office show the suspects throwing the employee to the ground, kicking her and dragging her by the hair.
Gregory said the second suspect, 30-year-old Yuliya V. Ivanova, was contacted by an Airway Heights Police officer on an unrelated call on Thursday, Aug. 13.
A detective with Spokane County's Major Crimes unit heard Ivanova's name over the radio and informed the officer that he had probable cause to charge her with first-degree robbery stemming from the Plato's Closet investigation.
Detectives charged the first suspect, 32-year-old Heather M. Roberts, on July 12, 2020.
Ivanova was taken to the Major Crimes Unit for an interview, but she refused to answer questions. She was booked into the Spokane County Jail for first-degree robbery and two unrelated felony warrants charging her with identity theft, second-degree theft and money laundering, along with two misdemeanor warrants for third-degree theft.
WATCH surveillance video of the incident below. WARNING: The video contains graphic content. Mobile users, tap here to watch.