4 charged after discovery of $1M in stolen merchandise in Stockton
STOCKTON - Four people have been changed in connection with last week's discovery of about $1 million of stolen retail goods in Stockton, the San Joaquin District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Cesar Godinez, Lucila Gaytan, Cesar Hernandez and Francisco Hernandez have been charged with involvement in an organized retail crime ring.
The four suspects were charged with 18 counts in connection with the $1 million in stolen retail goods, prosecutors said. They were also charged with a sentence enhancement in regard to "leadership, planning, possession and value of the stolen goods."
The district attorney's office said bail for Cesar Hernandez was set at $300,000. The four suspects are scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 9.
"I hope last week's arrest, and the charges just levied against the four suspects, sends a message loud and clear, Organized Retail Theft will not be tolerated here in San Joaquin County," District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a news release Wednesday. "If you want to engage in such behavior, do so at your own risk. You will be arrested, and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."
The California Highway Patrol said its investigators recovered the items at a home on the 400 block of Berrendo Lane. The CHP said it developed information about a home being used as a "fence" to buy stolen merchandise.
After serving the search warrant last week, the CHP said it arrested a 52-year-old believed to live at the home.
The CHP Delta RATT Team collaborated with the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department, Stockton Police Department, Tracy Police Department, Manteca Police Department, San Joaquin County Probation and the District Attorney's Investigators.