Organized Retail Theft Arrests NR23679ti/hg

Los Angeles: The City of Los Angeles, and neighboring cities, have recently experienced an increase in “Flash-Rob” method retail crime along with an increase of repeat offender theft incidents conducted by multiple suspects targeting various retail establishments throughout the Los Angeles region.

On September 14, 2023, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southwest Area Burglary Detectives partnering with local business Loss Prevention conducted a operation at a business located near the 3700 block of Crenshaw Boulevard in an attempt to resolve theft incidents.

Southwest Burglary Detectives made 9 arrests: (2) for felony 490.4(a)PC “Organized Retail Theft Crew”, (1) for an outstanding felony arrest warrant for 10851(a)VC, (4) repeat offenders for 459.5(a)PC “Shoplifting” and (2) were issued Release from Custody (RFC) citations for 459.5(a)PC.

From the two arrests related to Organized Retail Theft alone, Southwest Burglary Detectives recovered over-the-counter pharmaceutical stolen products from two businesses from within the U-Haul the suspects were using. In addition, they recovered 37 grams of Methamphetamine and US Currency that was obtained through the illegal sales of the over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.

From January 2023 through September 2023, Southwest Burglary Detectives have had 5 successful arrests and filings on 5 different Organized Retail Theft crews that have been linked to Organized Retail Theft at retail locations in the Newton Area, 77th Area, Southeast Area, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Area, Culver City, and Long Beach

Southwest Division is dedicated to taking continued action against this criminal activity.

As we continue to seek out additional suspects, anyone with information about these types of incidents, or the identity of additional suspects, is asked to call Southwest Area Burglary Detectives, Detective Hernandez, at 213-485-6795. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call the LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org. Lastly, tipsters may also download the “P3 Tips” mobile application and select the LA Regional Crime Stoppers as their local program.