WEST HOLLYWOOD—A woman who entered the DASH boutique on Thursday, September 21 was arrested after threatening an employee with a gun and later returning to the establishment waving a machete. The store is owned by “Keeping Up With the Kardashian” sisters Kim, Khloe and Kourtney.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s West Hollywood station detectives arrest Maria Medrano, 35, on Thursday after a search warrant was served at her home in Los Angeles at 9:00 p.m. The suspect was taken into custody without incident. A search of the location was conducted and two airsoft guns were recovered. The airsoft guns were similar in appearance to the weapon possessed by the suspect during the first assault, authorities reported.
She assaulted and threatened employees at the clothing store on the 8400 block of Melrose Avenue at approximately 11:13 a.m. and again at 1:50 p.m.
Authorities from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department West Hollywood station noted the suspect arrived at the store pointing a gun at an employee in the back of the store before then pointing the gun at an employee behind the counter. The suspect knocked several items off the counter and shouted: “Stay away from Cuba.” She last seen walking west on Melrose Avenue toward La Cienega Boulevard and out of view.
Medrano returned to the establishment at approximately 1:25 p.m. and was captured on video outside the store by reporters as she walked back and forth with a 14-inch machete in hand. She shouted, “The Kardashians will be executed if they step on Communist territory. They will be f****** killed.” With one of the cameraman filming, she turned to him and pointed the machete stating: “You want to get stabbed.”
She later stuck the machete between the glass doors of the DASH boutique before leaving the scene walking west on Melrose Avenue toward La Cienega Boulevard. Medrano was booked at West Hollywood Station for assault and making criminal threats. She is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
The DASH boutique was founded by the sisters in 2006 in Calabasas before it was relocated to West Hollywood in 2012. A second store opened in Miami Beach, Florida in 2009. A third store was opened in New York City in 2010, but closed its doors in 2016.
