Costa Mesa Woman Ekatarina Zharkova Arrested For Allegedly Stealing Over $300,000 In Retail Items

SANTA ANA (CBSLA) - A Costa Mesa woman was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of theft from multiple high-end retail stores in Southern California.

A California Highway Patrol report indicated that Zharkova, 38-years-old, was  surveilled by a recently implemented task force that was in place to help prevent the new string of "smash and grab robberies." They witnessed her stealing from numerous stores, including Nordstrom Rack.

According to that report, an executed search warrant at her home revealed 2,333 pieces of stolen goods - totaling a whopping $328,683.

The house was supposedly filled wall-to-wall with name-brand items from Gucci, Prada, Ramy Brook, Dodo Bar, Jimmy Choo and more. The task force witnessed Zharkova removing security devices from these items on several occasions, using a set of tools. Many of the items found at her home still had security devices as well, but they were malfunctioning.

She was arrested on November 23 for the Nordstrom Rack incident, where the task force caught her stealing over $3,500 in goods. She posted bail two days later.

Authorities are still investigating in order to determine if anyone else was involved, or any other victims (stores) that were targeted.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)