A multi-agency crackdown on organized retail theft led by Santa Rosa police at several businesses on Thursday resulted in 17 arrests, the department said.

The Santa Rosa Police Department said in a press release on Friday that it worked with police departments of Petaluma, Cotati, Healdsburg, and the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department and District Attorney's Office. The operation targeted stores at the Santa Rosa Marketplace mall and other businesses on Santa Rosa Avenue between Burt Street and Baker Avenue.

Dozens of officers and detectives worked with stores such as Target, Marshalls, Old Navy, Ulta, and Ross, meeting with their staffers to advise them of the operation and providing information on how to report incidents during the operation to coordinate with arrest teams, police said. 

Among those arrested were three suspects detained two hours before the noontime operation began. Police said an undercover detective, meeting with Marshall's employees, observed a man and a woman known to store employees as "prolific shoplifters," the press release said. They were followed through the store and observed one suspect loading merchandise into a cart positioned near the exit while the other was positioned as a lookout, according to police.

The suspects abruptly left the store after noticing they were being observed, leaving behind the merchandise and walking into a Burlington Coat Factory store, later leaving the store separately after again not taking any merchandise, police said. The man was detained by a uniformed officer while the woman entered a SUV driven by another woman also known to Marshalls for coordinated thefts with the other two suspects, police said.

The three were identified as Dylan Bacon, 47, of Kelseyville, and Lakeport residents Jessica Alexius, 39, and Sadieann Hamaji, 45. Alexius and Bacon have multiple prior theft convictions, qualifying them for enhanced penalties under the recently enacted Prop 36 provisions, which make petty theft or shoplifting a felony if the defendant has previous theft convictions. They were arrested on felony organized retail theft and other charges and booked at Sonoma County Jail, even though no merchandise was taken, police said.

During the operation, undercover detectives and investigators from the DA's Office were placed inside the businesses. They supported by the department's Real Time Crime Center unit that analyzes live camera feeds and surveillance data to identify suspects. Police said the operation involved identifying theft suspects, having teams arrest them after they left the businesses, and taking them to a mobile booking station for processing before heading to jail.

By 9 p.m. Thursday, police said 17 people were arrested for retail theft and other associated crimes at multiple stores.  Among the items recovered during the operation were LEGOs, electronics, clothing, sporting goods, and other items. Police said other evidence seized included narcotics, cell phones, and a price tag label maker.

Also booked at the Sonoma County on various theft and other charges were:

• Kimberlee McMath, 46, of Rohnert Park
• Robert Lopez, 40, of Hidden Valley Lake
• Amber Zucker, 46, of Santa Rosa
• Gloria Lopez, 50, of Santa Rosa 
• Eric Presser, 62, of Sonoma 
• Edward Mosher, 48, of Santa Rosa 
• Deaven Brasher, 26, of Santa Rosa 
• Brieana Maricott, 26, of Sebastopol 
• Antonio Lopez, 30, of Upper Lake

Others issued citations for petty theft and released at the scene were Angelique Guillory-Jackson, 31, of Santa Rosa; Karen Gleeson, 52, of Petaluma; and a 17-year-old female resident of Santa Rosa. A 17-year-old male resident of Santa Rosa was also cited and released for shoplifting.

Police said in addition, as preparations for Thursday's operation were underway, detectives who reviewed previous theft reports from the merchants learned of a 2023 theft from Ulta totaling nearly $3,000, and identified one suspect as 49-year-old Kenneth Torres of Santa Rosa. They also learned that Torres was also being held at Sonoma County Jail for violating his post-release supervision terms in another case, according to police, and he had charges of felony organized retail theft, grand theft, and other charges added to his case.

"Organized retail theft impacts businesses, employees, and consumers across our community," Police Chief John Cregan said in a prepared statement. "This operation demonstrates our commitment to working collaboratively with local and regional partners to hold offenders accountable and protect our local economy." 

In 2023, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office received a $2.05 million grant from the State of California to combat organized retail theft, which were used to establish a dedicated retail theft unit to work with local law enforcement and retailers. Police said over the past year, more than five similar proactive ORT operations have happened within the county.