Citing Red Bull addiction, 2 arrested for allegedly stealing energy drinks, leading Las Vegas police on chase

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Two suspects were arrested after allegedly stealing Red Bull energy drinks and leading Las Vegas Metropolitan Police on a high-speed chase.

Eugene Davis and Angela Sharp face multiple charges of robbery, burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, attempted robbery and disobeying a police officer after four separate theft investigations and a high-speed chase over the span of a week.

According to police, the first incident took place on July 13 at a Smart & Final store on Charleston. Workers reported that a man tried to steal 20 cases of Red Bull. The male suspect reportedly told a worker not to approach them and that he had a gun. Workers let the couple go and later called police.

The second incident took place July 14 at a Costco on Decatur. Police said a heavy-set Black man had a cart full of Red Bull, a Dell laptop and a security camera in his cart. A loss prevention officer spotted the man trying to leave the store through a fire exit without paying. The arrest report said when the officer tried to stop the suspect, the suspect took a fighting stance and said, “You want some of this?”

The suspect then struck the officer with an elbow to the face and a fight ensued, the report said. The suspect reportedly threatened to shoot the officer as a female driver pulled up in a vehicle and the suspect got in. The suspect didn’t leave with any merchandise and the loss prevention officer got photos of the suspects and the vehicle, police said.

On July 20, a Black woman entered a Costco store on Martin L. King Boulevard around 11 a.m. and loaded a cart full of Red Bull cases. Workers said the woman tried to push the cart out of the store without paying. One of the workers tried to confront the woman, who pushed past her and started running, the report said. A man pulled up in a vehicle and started loading up the car, the report said.

A worker tried to stop the theft and the female suspect said “I’ll pepper spray you [expletive],” as they loaded the vehicle. The woman then pepper-sprayed the woman in the face before they fled the scene, the arrest report said. Costco management then called police. A Costco manager told police that the suspects stole Red Bull in a similar way the week prior, but the female suspect was the driver and the male had the cart. A worker said they stole about 25 cases of Red Bull, valued at $2,500.

The next morning, an LVMPD officer on an unrelated call saw a vehicle matching the suspect vehicle description near Arville and Blue Diamond. The officer attempted to stop the car that was being driven by a Black female and had a Black male in the passenger seat. LVMPD said the vehicle drove away and wouldn’t stop, breaking multiple traffic laws.

At one point, LVMPD’s air unit had to take over the pursuit as the vehicle was driving 100 mph on the freeway.

The pursuit ended about 15 minutes later when the suspects got out of the vehicle and started walking away. Police then took the suspects, identified as Davis and Sharp, into custody.

Police said they found approximately 190 mostly unopened cans of Red Bull in the vehicle and in the trunk, the report said.

Sharp told police she participated in the theft incident the day prior and wanted to apologize to the worker. According to police, Sharp cited a Red Bull addiction as the reason for the incident. Sharp reportedly didn’t admit to the other theft incidents.

Davis admitted to all four incidents but said the violence that happened after the thefts was to defend themselves, the arrest report said. Davis said they were homeless and stole the items to resell, the report said.

The suspects face the following charges:

Eugene Davis: 2 counts robbery, 3 counts burglary, 3 counts conspiracy to commit burglary, 1 count attempted robbery

Angela Sharp: 1 count robbery, 1 count burglary, 1 count conspiracy to commit burglary, 1 count driver disobeying a police officer

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