PD: Two Charged in Main Street Clothing Shop Counterfeit Goods Bust

The following information was provided by the Middletown Police Department. Inclusion on this list does not indicate a conviction.

A Main Street clothing store selling hundreds of counterfeit goods was the target of a crime sting that netted the arrest of the owner and his "common law" wife, according to Middletown Police. 

On Jan. 15 at 4:30 p.m., Middletown Police narcotics, patrol and major crimes detectives, along with officers from the Department of Homeland Security, Hartford Police, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Task Force served a search warrant on the Definitely Urban Clothing, otherwise known as Blue Print II, store at 540 Main Street.

According to the report, police found hundreds of counterfeit clothing and footwear items:

• 41 pairs of Nike sneakers
• 12 pairs of Timberland boots
• 14 pairs of Ugg boots
• 20 The Northface jackets
• 1 The Northface vest
• 21 True Religion fleeces
• 1 Louis Vuitton handbag
• 1 Louis Vuitton scarf
• 72 counterfeit DVD films
• 247 pirated CDs
• 13 G Shock watches
• 1 Gucci watch
• 1 pair of Coach sneakers

Representatives of the Recording Industry and Motion Picture Associations of America, police say, certified that the CDs were pirated, as did an agent from a company certified by brand name corporations to identify counterfeit items. 

Each had inferior and inconsistent packaging, poor and uneven stitching, improper embossing and significantly lower prices than true name brands, the report says. 

Jasmine L. Williams, 28, of Spring Street, and store permittee Tracey Merritt, 47, of East Raymond Street, Hartford, were inside, police say, and told officers they were not "big players" and couldn't understand why they were being searched. Definitely Urban Clothing's "sister store" Blue Prints 1 in Hartford, the report says had recently been raided by Hartford Police 

Williams said she was Merritt's "common law wife," the report says and told police the Hartford store was closed down a while ago.

were charged with sale of recorded material without identification marks, possession of unauthorized recordings and forgery of label.

Both are due in Middletown Superior Court Wednesday at 10 a.m. 

Last April the same store was raided by police after citizens reported heavy narcotics trafficking inside, police say, Heshmia D. Lawrence, 38, of Daniel Street, East Hartford, was arrested.

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