Stormy Wellington’s stylist is behind bars after Miramar police arrested him for allegedly walking off with her luxury handbags, including five Hermès Birkins.
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Shaquille Jaray Palmer, 33, was arrested late Friday night and charged with first degree grand theft of $100,000 or more. According to the arrest report, the total loss comes to about $187,360, covering the five Birkins, a Chanel water bottle and two Chanel handbags. Police originally valued the stolen items at more than $271,000 when the theft was first reported.
This was not a stranger. Wellington told police she had known Palmer for about seven years, considered him a friend and employed him with access to her Miramar home. She said he was allowed to take one or two designer bags at a time for professional cleaning, but never gave him permission to take anything beyond that.
The bags went missing in August. When investigators questioned Palmer, he acknowledged taking handbags and said he had them out to be serviced and cleaned. Police say he promised to return five bags by August 20.
Instead, police say the Birkins ended up at a business in Aventura. According to the arrest report, Palmer brought the items there as part of a loan agreement and never paid it back, which left Wellington unable to get her property back. Investigators traced some of the missing bags to that business.
The road to Friday’s arrest had a major detour. Days earlier, Miramar police arrested a different man, Shaquille Grant, 31, a fashion stylist, for the same theft. Police later admitted they had the wrong person, saying the confusion came from the two men sharing the same first name. Miramar Police Chief Delrish Moss said a warrant had been issued under the wrong name based on information investigators received in September. Grant was released after police notified the Broward County State Attorney’s Office of the mistake.
Wellington put the blame on her former stylist. She said Palmer intentionally gave investigators a fake name when they first questioned him, which is how an innocent man ended up in handcuffs. She also made clear she never had any doubt about who took her things. “It was never a mistake or a question who took the bags,” she told Local 10 News.
She had sympathy for Grant, telling 7News “my heart goes out to him” after seeing him walking with his head down following his release.
Palmer did not appear too bothered. When 7News asked him whether he stole the handbags as officers took him into custody, he grinned at the camera and winked.
Before the arrest, Wellington said she had not gotten any of her bags back. Since first reporting the theft, she has also found more items missing from her home, including the two Chanel bags and an expensive Versace dress.
