Tag Archive for: organized retail theft

Two Men Sentenced for Organized Retail Theft

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that two men were sentenced for a series of brazen organized retail theft crimes where multiple Sunglass Hut store locations were targeted, resulting in a reported loss of $238,847. Hundreds of pairs of sunglasses were stolen from nine Sunglass Hut store locations, some of which were targeted more than once.  The defendants also targeted other high-end stores, stealing more than $4,000 in shoes from Nordstrom Rack, more than $7,000 in merchandise from Bloomingdales, and over $6,000 in jackets from Burberry.

Both defendants Ernesto Louis Cruz, 27, and Jordan Guzman Lopez, 27, who pleaded guilty to robbery and grand theft charges, were sentenced to three years and eight months in state prison.

“This prosecution and prison sentence should serve as a warning that we’re holding organized retail theft crime rings accountable for the harm to retailers, their employees and community who are often traumatized by these crimes,” said DA Stephan. “Unfortunately, this is another example of ‘smash and grab’ robberies that have been on the increase in the past five years. Organized criminal rings steal large amounts of goods from businesses of all types and sizes with the intent to resell them, particularly through unregulated online marketplaces. A recent change in the law will bring a much needed fix to outdated state and federal laws that allow the unregulated sale of stolen goods online and provide little recourse to stop repeat offenders.”

DA Stephan has taken a tough stance against organized retail thieves and is continuing to explore additional ways to hold these criminals accountable amid high-profile thefts across California. Stephan participated in two national discussions to strategize ways to stop organized retail crime last year: one roundtable discussion with the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National District Attorneys Association, and a national virtual panel discussion with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Beginning in 2019, with the passage of California’s Organized Retail Theft Law (PC 490.4), the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office began a partnership with the California Highway Patrol’s Organized Retail Theft team of special investigators. Since that time, several successful prosecutions have occurred. Crews of thieves coming to San Diego from other parts of the California have been prosecuted in a single case for all crimes they committed against retail stores up and down the state, allowing prosecutors to hold the defendants more accountable for the breadth and history of their crimes.

Deputy District Attorney Steven Nguyen, from the DA’s Economic Crimes Division, prosecuted this case. The DA’s Economic Crimes Division is responsible for prosecuting a wide variety of wrongdoing, including complex fraud, organized retail theft, cybercrimes, real estate fraud, consumer, and environmental protection crimes.

DA Brings Fight Against Organized Retail Theft Rings to the National Stage

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for a virtual panel discussion on Thursday to strategize on ways to stop organized retail crime, which has spiked significantly in the past five years. This theft is perpetrated by organized criminal rings that steal large amounts of goods from businesses of all types and sizes with the intent to resell them, particularly through unregulated online marketplaces.

During the event, DA Stephan discussed the importance of building partnerships with businesses and law enforcement similar to the strong collaboration that we have in the San Diego Organized Retail Crimes Alliance (ORCA), keeping employees and shoppers safe, and closing loopholes in laws that fail to bring accountability for serial theft and organized crime.

“I appreciate the U.S. Chamber of Commerce inviting us to join them to shine a light on this public safety issue that is wreaking havoc on small and large businesses and making employees and customers feel unsafe,” DA Stephan said. “We were also able to share best practices from San Diego County on holding these organized crime rings accountable while fighting to fix outdated state and federal laws that allow the unregulated sale of stolen goods online and provide little recourse to stop repeat offenders.”

In a recent San Diego case, two thieves were prosecuted for 42 felony counts of looting, grand theft, and burglary for breaking into ULTA Beauty, Nordstrom Rack and other stores during nighttime hours.

DA Stephan has taken a tough stance against organized retail thieves and is continuing to explore additional ways to hold these criminals accountable amid high-profile ‘smash and grab’ thefts across California. Stephan participated in a similar roundtable discussion earlier this summer with the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National District Attorneys Association.

Beginning in 2019, with the passage of California’s Organized Retail Theft Law (PC 490.4), the San Diego DA’s Office began a partnership with the California Highway Patrol’s Organized Retail Theft team of special investigators. Since that time, a number of successful prosecutions have occurred. Crews of thieves coming to San Diego from other parts of the California have been prosecuted in a single case for all crimes they committed against retail stores up and down the state.

National retail groups estimate retail theft losses to be in the tens of billions of dollars each year. Locally, San Diego County has not yet seen any of the larger “smash and grab” incidents, but instead thefts are increasingly carried out by organized crews of thieves who are traveling around the state and hitting store after store of whatever they specialize in or whatever is in demand like fragrances, tools and electronics. Law enforcement is arresting some thieves who are San Diego residents but say at least half of them are not local residents and only come to San Diego to steal.