L.A. smash-and-grab crew arrested — resold stolen goods via Instagram
Three people who participated in a series of smash-and-grab robberies at high-end stores across California have been arrested. The charges carry the possibility of decades of imprisonment.
The arrests were made by an Los Angeles Police Department task force, reported The Los Angeles Times. The suspects were charged with the theft of more than $300,000 worth of goods across six California counties during a period of two years (Dec. 12, 2022, until Feb. 12, 2024). But evidence suggests that more than $900,000 worth of items may have been stolen, the report said.
The California Department of Justice filed multiple felony charges — including organized retail theft, robbery and grand theft — against the suspects. The merchandise was stolen from Burberry, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, Michael Kors, Gucci, Coach, Versace, Sunglass Hut and Maison Margiela.
“To be clear, this isn’t about a couple of one-off instances of a shoplifted Louis Vuitton wallet or swiped a pair of Prada sunglasses,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who joined Southern California police agencies to announce the arrests, according to the report. “This was organized. These were organized burglaries and attempted burglaries where suspects would rip the bags off the displays, even when the products were secured to displays with locks.”
In his remarks, Bonta noted that “these aren’t victimless crimes,” alleging that the suspects sometimes used force against workers as they ran out of a store.
“Other times they overwhelmed the stores with large numbers of people in disguise brazenly ransacking high-end products,” he said.
Within a day or two of the robberies, the suspects would sell the stolen goods “through Instagram stories — that was their chosen platform for resale,” Bonta said.
The Los Angeles Police Department organized retail theft task force identified the crew behind the robberies. All three have multiple felony convictions for crimes including robbery.
“Organized retail theft harms businesses, retailers, and consumers – and puts the public at risk," Bonta said in an official statement. "Organized retail crime has been plaguing our state for far too long. I want to thank our local law enforcement partners for their work in apprehending the suspects in this case. The California Department of Justice and its partners will continue fighting to keep our communities, businesses and consumers safe from retail theft and other crimes."
To real the full LA Times story, click here.