CORRECTION: The original release identified two detectives with incorrect agencies; the release has now been updated. MCDA regrets the error.

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt today announced that Janeice Renee Downs, 24, has been indicted on 16 theft charges totaling over $56,000 in stolen goods from a local retailer. This case is being investigated and prosecuted by the Organized Retail Theft Task Force. 

Upon review of the evidence, the Task Force presented the case to a grand jury, which returned a true bill of indictment on April 22, 2024, for the following charges:

• Six counts of Organized Retail Theft
• Three counts of Aggravated Theft in the First Degree
• Seven counts of Theft in the First Degree

In addition, Downs has been accused of more than $400,000 in retail theft in Washington State, and she faces further charges in Multnomah and other Oregon counties. She is currently in custody in King County, Washington (under the name Janeice Smith). 

The DA’s Office would like to thank multiple law enforcement partners for their assistance in this case, including Detective Andrew Hearst with the Portland Police Bureau, Detective Jeffry Christiansen with the Bellevue Police Department, and Detective Nyla Poulson with the Tigard Police Department.

A charging instrument is only an accusation of a crime. Downs is innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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