Update: The fourth suspect has been arrested. Read more here.
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Police said Friday they have arrested three people in connection with the fireworks fracas earlier this week at Hamilton Place mall.
Darrisha Landmon, 25; Garrian King, 22; and Diamond Jones, 20, face charges of theft of property, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct, among other things. Lt. Danny Jones said police are still searching for Reese Cosby, a fourth suspect in the Dec. 26 operation.
Police said Landmon, King, Jones and Cosby entered the Victoria's Secret PINK store around 4:45 p.m., grabbing several pieces of clothing off the racks as they casually talked to each other. Moments later, Cosby detonated a handful of firecrackers he pulled out of his jacket. They took off with at least $1,000 in merchandise, police said, and escaped during the pandemonium that injured three people.
In total, the firecrackers caused about $2,000 in damage, police estimated in an arrest affidavit.
Landmon, King and Jones were picked up after police identified them in video footage, Jones said. "Once our organized crime officers looked at the video, we knew who they were," he said.
Police traced King, who is on probation, back to the mall around the time of the firecracker incident using his GPS monitor, his affidavit says. Meanwhile, his sister, Jones, had been arrested in November for shoplifting at the Belk store at Hamilton Place, it adds. On that date, she received a "trespass ban notice" and faces an additional charge of aggravated criminal trespass in this incident.
Landmon, King and Jones are scheduled to appear Tuesday in Hamilton County General Sessions Court. As of Friday afternoon, Cosby had not been arrested or processed at the Hamilton County Jail.
A local family has already filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court, saying $150,000 is appropriate for the negligent injuries they suffered in the "human stampede" that broke out after the fireworks exploded. Filed Thursday, the suit does not name Landmon, King, Jones or Cosby, but says CBL & Associates Properties and ERMC III Property Management Co. LLC had "a duty to have policies and procedures in effect that would affect the human stampede from happening."
As a result, the suit says, Teriance, Carol and Tecara Copeland were injured. Police said three people were hurt as a result of the commotion Monday.
CBL, a developer of malls and shopping centers based in Chattanooga, owns the Hamilton Place premises, the suit says. Company spokeswoman Stacey Keating said CBL does not comment on pending litigation but released a statement about the arrest.
"We would like to thank the Chattanooga Police Department for their quick work in arresting the individuals involved," she wrote in an email.
ERMC, meanwhile, is a private company that offers a full-range of janitorial, maintenance, security and landscaping services to various companies nationwide. Attempts to reach a legal representative at its Lee Highway office were unsuccessful Friday.
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow on Twitter @zackpeterson918.