10 arrested for brazen thefts during undercover operation at Nike Store in East Los Angeles
Police arrested 10 people during a two-day undercover operation the the Nike Community Store in East Los Angeles last week.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the operation was conducted in response to a recent string of "brazen" organized retail thefts throughout the Southland. The arrests were made on Thursday and Friday, with more than $3,000 worth of stolen merchandise recovered by investigators.
A multi-team effort, consisting of detectives from LASD's burglary-robbery task force, East Los Angeles Station's Crime Enforcement Team and Summer Enforcement Team, as well as Nike Loss Prevention, worked on various surveillance operations "to apprehend suspects, deter criminal activity, and protect life and property at the Nike Community Store in East Los Angeles," said a statement from the department.
Deputies noted that the store, located in the 4500 block of Whittier Boulevard, has been targeted by organized theft several times in recent weeks, similar to a series of other flash mob and smash-and-grab robberies that have plagued major retailers in Los Angeles County including at an Yves Saint Laurent store in Glendale, a Nordstrom in Canoga Park and a Macy's in Arcadia.
According to LASD, four of the arrests were for alleged felonies, and two of the suspects had outstanding warrants for their arrest. One of those was a previous shoplifting warrant.
During their investigation, detectives were able to determine two different criminal street gangs that were associated with the retail thefts at the Nike store.
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This undercover operation is just the latest in a series of steps that local law enforcement is taking to combat these repeat crimes.
"I think from our perspective, we'll take any help we can get at this point," said Rachel Michelin, the President of the California Retailer's Association.
In recent weeks, Los Angeles Police Department has formed an organized retail crime task force, the California State Attorney General Rob Bonta, announced a partnership between the Department of Justice and dozens of retailers and online market places and Governor Gavin Newsom has tripled the amount of California Highway Patrol enforcement patrolling the streets of Los Angeles.
Michelin says that she's among the many within her industry calling for changes to Proposition 47, the ballot measure approved by 60% of state voters in 2014, which reduced the severity of various offenses, including theft and drug possession, from felonies to misdemeanors.
"Instead what we see is more and more, I think zero bail, that is not gonna help the situation," Michelin said. "We are pandering, in my opinion, to people who are committing crimes at the expense of law-abiding citizens."
