Newport resident arrested after $2 million in jewelry is stolen by knife-wielding woman at South Coast Plaza

Costa Mesa police arrested a Newport Beach woman Monday on suspicion of stealing more than $2 million in jewelry from a South Coast Plaza store while brandishing a knife.

Karen Yvonne Floyd, 54, is being held at Orange County Jail with bail set at $2 million, according to jail records. Her next scheduled court date is Wednesday.

A woman stole several pieces of jewelry around noon Saturday, according to Costa Mesa Police Department spokeswoman Roxi Fyad.

The woman entered the store, which police would not identify, and asked to try on several pieces. She then asked if she could view the jewelry in the sunlight, according to police. She began walking toward the exit, where store security tried to stop her and tell her she could not leave with the merchandise.

The woman brandished a large knife at security and fled to the parking lot, police said.

Police said they used license plate information and witness identifications to find Floyd at her Newport Beach apartment building and obtained a warrant to search her residence. Detectives found the stolen jewelry at her apartment along with a knife believed to have been used in the robbery, according to police.

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