Attorney General Rob Bonta announces charges against members of organized retail theft ring
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a series of charges Friday, targeted at a group of individuals involved with an organized retail theft ring.
According to the statement from the Attorney General's Office, the ring is known to operate throughout California, including Los Angeles, Alameda, Fresno, Kern, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Ventura counties.
The charges were filed against nine suspects, five of which were detained following a search and arrest operation in Los Angeles on Monday, while three others were charged in a separate complaint Tuesday. One of the suspects is reportedly still at large.
Monday's search and arrest operations recovered over $135,000 worth of stolen merchandise and $62,000 in cash. The report detailed that the merchandise came from major retailers like Macy's, Columbia Sportswear, Abercrombie & Fitch, J.C. Penney and Lululemon, among others.
The suspect's charged on Tuesday were also charged for allegedly possessing an additional $17,000 worth in stolen merchandise.
In a statement released Friday, Bonta said:
"Organized retail theft hurts businesses, employees, and the public — and this criminal activity will not be tolerated in California. Today we take another step toward tackling this issue by announcing the arrests and felony charges against individuals alleged to be participants in an organized criminal scheme targeting retailers throughout our state. I want to thank the California Highway Patrol and our retail partners for their collaboration and help in this investigation. As our state's chief law enforcement officer, I will continue to aggressively pursue and hold accountable those who participate in organized retail theft."
Organizers in the scheme are suspected of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars of retail merchandise, with plans to either keep them or sell them both domestically and internationally.
The press release detailed that the give suspects suspects detained Monday were charged with conspiracy to commit felony, organized retail theft, grand theft and possession of stolen property. Additionally, they were also facing a special allegation, which detailed that the theft totals equaled an amount greater than $100,000.
The three charged on Tuesday all faced charges of possession of stolen merchandise.
The arresting officers and lead on these investigations and arrests was the California Highway Patrol's Organized Retail Crime Task Force.
