7 arrested in California for allegedly stealing $300K in Nike Jordan shoes from train container
Police recovered more than $300,000 in Nike Jordan shoes during a California Highway Patrol operation in Anaheim Friday morning.
The agency arrested seven people while they allegedly transported the stolen merchandise in a U-Haul box truck. The group allegedly stole the shoes from a train container near the remote Mojave Desert community of Amboy, Calif. The group allegedly drove the boxes filled with Jordans nearly 190 miles to Anaheim.
The CHP Border Division's Cargo Theft Interdiction Progam tracked the suspects' U-Haul and a connected pickup truck and pulled them over at 11:25 a.m.
While searching the vehicles, officers found burglar tools allegedly used to break into the train container. They also found 1,278 Air Jordan 11 Retro shoes, worth roughly $311,832.
The seven suspects were booked into Orange County Jail on felony grand theft of cargo charges.
"The swift actions of our CTIP unit and patrol officers demonstrate CHP's commitment to combating organized cargo theft and ensuring stolen goods are recovered," said CHP Border Division Chief Tommie Cocroft.
The Orange County District Attorney's office charged three of the men with charges related to the alleged theft. Bryan Quintero-Echarravia, 18, Bernardo Romeroquintero, 34 and Olegario Flores, 26, face a maximum of three years in state prison if convicted.
"Organized theft rings are no match for the sophistication and determination of law enforcement to track down these thieves, arrest them, and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. "In Orange County, it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when you will be caught and you will be prosecuted."
Investigators asked anyone with information on the case to call the Major Crimes Unit at (858) 944-6300.