Statewide Apple store retail burglary ring busted; 8 suspects in custody
SAN FRANCISCO — Culminating months of investigation, a retail theft ring targeting Apple stores across the state has been busted and eight suspects have been taken into custody for the wave of smash-and-dash burglaries.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta said the ring was responsible for a total loss of approximately $1 million dating back to August 2022.
For the most part, the burglaries were quick-hitting. The suspects would enter stores and hold back employees and customers while stealing retail items, including thousands of dollars of phones and tablets from each location.
The alleged crimes occurred in the counties of Yolo, Monterey, Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Riverside.
"Organized retail theft costs businesses, retailers, and consumers – and puts the public at risk," Bonta said. "Brazen criminal activity, such as the organized retail theft operation we have taken down today, will not be tolerated in California."
The suspects now face multiple counts of felony charges brought by the California Department of Justice, including conspiracy to commit retail theft, organized retail theft, grand theft, theft in the amount of more than $500,000, and an aggravated white-collar enhancement.
The arrests were the latest operation conducted by a special retail crime unit within the California Highway Patrol.
California and states across the country have seen a pattern of organized retail crime. According to a 2020 national survey, U.S. retailers lose approximately $700,000 per every $1 billion in sales to organized retail crime.