Tips lead to arrest of suspect in south Fort Myers beauty store robbery

One woman was arrested Friday night as one of four suspects in the July robbery of a beauty store in south Fort Myers, while another known suspect remains at large.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Kayla Stone, 27, was arrested at around 10:15 p.m. in the wake of an investigation stretching back to July. On July 26, at around 6:10 p.m., a deputy responded to a report of a grand theft at an Ulta Beauty store located at 13499 S. Cleveland Ave. The store manager said that four women wearing face masks stole $8,366 worth of men’s and women’s fragrances before exiting the business and driving away in two separate vehicles.

On July 27, detectives reviewed surveillance footage of the four suspects. They recognized one of the women in the video immediately but could not remember her name. After disseminating the photos via Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers, they received almost 50 anonymous tips. The tips identified two of the women the first as either Kayla Stone (or Kayla Powell) and the other as Keshanda Walker, 25. One detective remembered Stone as the victim of a battery in one of his past cases, and researching her address revealed that she was also the victim of a vehicle burglary on Aug. 1.

Detectives spoke to Stone on Aug. 2. She said she met up with someone called “Kee Monroe” before they conspired to commit the theft at Ulta Beauty. Stone said she needed
the money for bills because she is a single parent of two small children. She pointed out which woman in the security images was “Kee Monroe” and said she knew her real last name was Walker. Stone confirmed Keshanda Walker was the woman in question after seeking a previous booking photo, but claimed not to know the other two women, as they were Walker’s friends.

Stone told detectives she sold all the items on her Facebook Market place account and made around $700 to pay her bills. Detectives attempted to find Walker, who was staying at the Super 8 motel located at 2717 Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers, but they weren’t able to find her there.

Stone was taken into custody without incident on Friday. She faces a charge for larceny – grand theft.