Longmont police arrested a 46-year-old woman — who is accused of offering topless hairstyling services in Johnstown and Loveland — on suspicion of practicing cosmetology without a license in Longmont, according to court records.
Suzette Hall, also known as Suzette Dawe, was arrested Wednesday night at her Loveland home on a Boulder County warrant with a $25,000 bond, police reported. Court records do not yet show when she is due to appear in front of a judge. She was arrested on suspicion of a second offense of practicing barbering and cosmetology without a license and felony criminal impersonation.
Longmont police began investigating Hall over a report that she bounced a number of checks to pay for chair rental at a salon on the 2200 block of Main Street. Longmont Police Detective Stephen Desmond recalled her from a 2008 case in which she was practicing without a license. In that case she was ordered to give up practicing the use of unauthorized tools for manicures and to cease and desist from performing permanent makeup services. State officials told police she still does not have a license to practice.
As Desmond investigated the check fraud, he discovered she was working as a stylist in Longmont and had claimed to have the appropriate licensing, he wrote in the affidavit for her arrest. Desmond found the checks she provided for chair rental were not signed by Hall, so it was difficult to prove the intentional fraud, according to an arrest warrant affidavit, but continued to investigate the licensing issue, court records show.
Witnesses told Desmond in October that Hall opened a beauty salon in Johnstown called Rebel Beauty, but she moved to Loveland and “is charging $45 for topless haircuts and is advertising on Craigslist.”
Her former business partner in Johnstown told Desmond they launched the business together, but the relationship quickly soured when Hall decided to offer the topless services.
Her partner was “not comfortable with this as she did not want to have topless haircuts in her business because she is a single mother and … she did not believe this was safe or proper,” according to the warrant.
She added that Hall later told her she was soliciting sex with men in the business and said she discovered this after a “strange man” visited and she found used condoms in the trash. She said Hall confessed to accepting payment for sex and added that she also did “house calls.”
The warrant notes that Longmont police do not have jurisdiction in Johnstown or Loveland and could not investigate the prostitution allegations.
Hall agreed to leave the business and repay debt by leaving fixtures and other capital.
Police were unable to turn up any Craigslist ads, according to the warrant. Hall’s ex-husband told police she set up shop in Loveland and offered services as “Rebel Barber.” He told police she claimed she applied for a license and it was in the mail and that she had also applied for “a nude license for hairstylists,” which, police confirmed with state regulators, does not exist.
According to the warrant, Hall has nine previous felony convictions, including several for identity theft, motor vehicle theft, felony theft, and possession of a weapon by a previous offender. She also has a misdemeanor record.
Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273 or at pshields@times-call.com.
