Multiple suspects arrested in CHP operation targeting Northern California organized retail theft ring
A California Highway Patrol task force this month arrested 13 people and recovered over $800,000 in stolen merchandise in connection with an organized retail theft ring that operated across Northern California.
The CHP Valley Division's Organized Retail Crime Task Force, which includes investigators from the Sacramento Police Department and the Placer County District Attorney's Office, was alerted in September to a pair of retail theft suspects operating in Placer County and at multiple other locations throughout the state, the agency said in a press release.
On October 1, the Rocklin Police Department located the suspects with help from the Valley Division ORCTF. The suspects identified others who were purchasing stolen merchandise from them and reselling it for profit at flea markets in Oakland, San Jose, Galt, Modesto and Stockton, the CHP said.
Investigators used information provided by the suspects to conduct surveillance operations and establish links among the theft suspects, the stolen merchandise buyers and resellers, and the flea-market locations, the CHP said. Search warrants were obtained for six homes, three storage lockers, and one storage lot.
On December 11, the CHP said multiple law enforcement agencies conducted Operation Silent Night, executing warrants in Oakland, Richmond, San Leandro, and Galt. The operation resulted in 13 arrests and the seizure of over 400 boxes and 200 bags of stolen merchandise, along with two firearms, more than $10,000 in cash, five vans, two passenger vehicles, and two trailers, the CHP said.
The stolen merchandise included cosmetics, household goods, clothing, power tools, toys, alcohol, and diapers. The day after the raids, Cal Expo provided an exposition hall to help investigators process and catalog the recovered merchandise, which amounted to 44,140 stolen items valued in excess of $800,000.
The following suspects were taken to the Placer County Jail for booking. They were identified as:
- Isaid Garcia Chapas, 41, Oakland
- Irene Cruz Barragan, 35, Oakland
- Daniela Cruz Barragan, 33, Oakland
- Robert Lorenzo Luna-Varela, 34, Oakland
- Jefferson Isaed Garcia-Rivera, 22, Oakland
- Jennifer Garcia Cruz, 19, Oakland
- Elan Rosales Montes, 35, Oakland
- Claudia Ivet Cruz Barragan, 42, Oakland
- Yolanda Carrillo Martinez, 45, Oakland
- Ivan Miranda Espinoza, 33, Oakland
- Bach Ngoc Thi Bui, 53, El Sobrante
- Yuridia Sandoval Ramirez, 35, Oakland
- Eryn Wilfred Corea Guevara, 29, Oakland
"Organized retail theft is not a victimless crime. It impacts businesses, workers, and communities across California," said CHP Valley Division Chief Tyler Eccles in a prepared statement. "This investigation highlights the strength of collaboration between law enforcement and our retail partners, and our commitment to holding organized theft networks accountable."
Governor Gavin Newsom established the CHP's Organized Retail Crime Task Force in 2019 to target sophisticated theft rings, beginning in Southern California before expanding to the San Francisco Bay Area and other parts of the state. In 2021, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 331, which permanently extended the task force and gave the CHP more authority to coordinate regional property crime efforts.
According to the CHP, since the ORCTF's inception in 2019, the agency has been involved in over 4,200 investigations, with over 4,700 suspects arrested and the recovery of nearly 1.5 million stolen goods valued at over $68.7 million statewide as of November 30.