Smokey Robinson and his wife claim one of the Jane Doe accusers now suing the Motown legend for sexual assault used an old key to break into the couple’s storage unit without permission on Nov. 22 and swipe property worth thousands of dollars.
“All of this is captured on security camera footage from the storage facility showing Jane Doe 4 stealing box after box of the Robinsons’ personal belongings, loading the items into a car, and taking off with two accomplices,” a new court filing obtained by Rolling Stone reads. “Although the Robinsons may have once entrusted Jane Doe 4 with access to the storage unit during the time she worked with them, she no longer had any conceivable legal right to set foot in there – no less brazenly break in and steal from the Robinsons.”
The Robinsons are seeking an emergency restraining order forcing the woman to surrender any remaining keys, return the allegedly pilfered property, and stay 100 yards away. They also plan to file a police report Tuesday, a source said.
Jane Doe 4 worked for the Robinsons as a housekeeper, cook, and personal assistant for nearly two decades, starting in 2006. She was one of the four former domestic workers who sued the Robinsons for $50 million last May with claims of sexual harassment, rape, and creating a hostile work environment. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau later confirmed it was investigating the claims. The Robinsons denied the allegations and counter-sued the women for defamation and elder abuse.
Last month, the women’s lawyers asked the court for permission to add two more accusers to the case, including a man who previously worked as a car detailing valet for Robinson. The man alleges Robinson subjected him to unwanted sexual overtures, the lawyers said. The Robinsons deny the new claims.
In a sworn declaration obtained by Rolling Stone, Francis Robinson said she learned of the alleged break-in when she visited AAA Self Storage in Chatsworth, Calif., on Monday to retrieve Christmas decorations. She claims an employee informed her that someone accessed her unit at noon on Nov. 22. “I learned this because I was shown 40 minutes of security footage depicting Jane Doe 4 and two other individuals going to and from the storage unit,” Francis says in her statement. “As Jane Doe worked with my family for approximately 19 years, until April 2024, I have no doubt that one of the three individuals in the security footage is, without question, Jane Doe 4.”
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Francis alleges the trio took multiple large- and medium-sized boxes from the unit, along with two five-foot Santa statues. She believes the former employee has other keys or access cards still in her possession, and now she’s fearful the woman is “capable of even further or worse conduct,” the filing states.
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The plaintiffs’ lawyers, John W. Harris and Herbert Hayden, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. They’re due back in court Thursday for oral arguments requested by Los Angeles County Judge Kevin C. Brazile related to the Robinsons’ requests for more time deposing Jane Doe 4. The Robinsons’ lawyer, Christopher Frost, says in the new filings obtained by Rolling Stone that Jane Doe 4 is a “palpable threat” to the Robinsons.
“As absurd as this turn of events might seem, it is yet another example of how Jane Doe 4 and her group of accusers are motivated by greed – even the pettiest kind,” Frost said in a statement Tuesday. “Beyond absurdity, it is also alarming that she has retained and is exploiting access to the Robinsons’ property, and we are taking swift action to ensure that that Jane Doe 4 and those assisting her cannot go near the Robinsons, a couple in their 70s and 80s, because there seem to be no limits on what they are willing to do.”
