Police recovered $380,000 worth of stolen property and arrested eight people believed to be associated with an organized retail crime ring in Santa Clara County, Calif., on Aug. 12, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office said this week.
The thieves allegedly stole the recovered merchandise from various T.J. Maxx stores in the Bay Area.
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Officials said that in May, T.J. Maxx employees notified the sheriff’s office of targeted thefts on the company’s stores throughout the region. They alleged that, on some days, thieves entered and stole merchandise multiple times in one day. The sheriff’s office said it has reason to believe the stolen merchandise was then sold at flea markets in San Jose, Calif. Police said the organized crime ring has been linked to at least 80 thefts in the area.
The sheriff’s office worked in tandem with the Gilroy Police Department and the Mountain View Police Department to execute several search warrants issued by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The departments searched four homes and one storage unit.
Officials said they seized more than $225,000 worth of stolen merchandise from a home on Dobern Avenue in San Jose and arrested three suspects: 20-year-old Christian Hernandez Guzman; 23-year-old Jazmine Sanchez Valencia and 44-year-old Esmeralda Hernandez Guzman. The sheriff’s office noted that the suspects are charged with organized retail theft, conspiracy, grand theft and receipt of stolen property.
Police searched a house on Giannotta Way in San Jose, about two miles from the Dobern Avenue home, and found more than $100,000 in stolen goods there. Officers arrested Maria Sanchez, 66, during the raid. She faces the same charges as the Hernandez Guzmans and Sanchez Valencia.
Sheriff Robert Jonsen said the collaboration between entities allowed the county to effectively investigate the organized crime ring.
“This case is a powerful example of interagency collaboration, strategic investigation and relentless pursuit of justice,” Jonsen said in a statement. “The successful take down of this organized retail theft crew reflects the dedication, professionalism and teamwork of everyone involved.”
In addition to the arrests police made at the homes, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said police apprehended and arrested four others: 32-year-old Jose Guzman; 19-year-old Derek Montes Rios; 36-year-old Rigoberto Hernandez Guzman, 36 and 29-year-old Stephanie Juarez Polvos. They each face the same charges as their alleged crime ring members.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office still seeks Juan Molas, 19-year-old Kevin Calderon, 26-year old Jacobo Giron and five unidentified suspects.
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