Cracking Down on California’s Crime Rings
Raids uncover a network profiting from stolen goods.
- Los Angeles County authorities are targeting “fences” who buy and resell stolen goods.
- Raids on two stores in February uncovered $1 million in cash and allegedly shoplifted items.
- The Sheriff’s Department task force has opened nearly 2,500 investigations and made over 1,000 arrests.
The reselling of stolen goods is a growing issue in Los Angeles County, but **what are authorities doing to combat retail theft?** The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is cracking down on organized retail theft, targeting the “fences” who profit from shoplifting and other crimes.
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman announced retail theft prosecutions at a 7-Eleven that was hit by thieves 12 times in recent weeks.
Following the Money
Plainclothes detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department observed individuals entering stores in downtown Los Angeles with full shopping bags and leaving empty-handed, sometimes counting cash. This led them to suspect that the stores, Quickmart and Big Apple, were involved in buying and reselling stolen goods, according to a search warrant affidavit.
In February, deputies raided the stores and found allegedly shoplifted shaving cream, sunscreen, mouthwash, and $1 million inside a safe, according to Det. Yesenia Olvera, who led the investigation. Lawyers for the store owners, a married couple, denied any wrongdoing, claiming the cash came from legitimate transactions.
The couple’s attorneys described them as “the embodiment of the American Dream,” arguing that seizing the money threatened to bankrupt the family, which owns nine convenience stores and gas stations throughout Los Angeles.
A County-Wide Problem
Authorities allege that these stores are part of a large network of thieves and brokers making significant profits in Los Angeles County. Serial shoplifters, known as “boosters” by the police, travel extensively to steal makeup, clothes, tools, household supplies, and other goods, often hitting multiple retailers in a single day.
Lt. Derek White, who leads a sheriff’s task force focused on organized retail theft, explained that the thieves sell their stolen goods to “fences.” These fences then resell the items from brick-and-mortar stores, sidewalk stalls, or online platforms at prices much lower than legitimate businesses can offer.
Capt. Calvin Mah, who leads the Sheriff’s Department’s Major Crimes Bureau, noted that there is a black market for “anything and everything” in Los Angeles County. Detectives have investigated the theft and resale of various items, including Lego sets, riding lawn mowers, chain saws, and hair gel.
“Smash and Grab” Thefts
In recent years, California has seen broadcasts of “smash and grab” and “flash mob” thefts. Lt. Alex Gilinets of the Sheriff’s Department described these incidents as chaotic scenes where crowds of masked individuals swarm shopping centers, running off with purses, iPhones, and other easily grabbed items.
A man removes broken glass outside an ice cream shop that was targeted in a “smash and grab” in West Los Angeles.
In 2023, the state allocated grants to combat retail, cargo, and catalytic converter thefts. The Sheriff’s Department received $15.6 million to enhance a task force consisting of 40 deputies and civilian analysts, according to Gilinets.
Inside the Task Force
The task force now includes approximately 30 deputies working in uniform and plainclothes, covering the Sheriff’s Department’s entire 4,000-square mile jurisdiction. Det. Jan Wong reported that deputies assigned to the unit have initiated nearly 2,500 investigations and made over 1,000 arrests.
The Sheriff’s Department is focusing on both the thieves and the fences who facilitate their operations. Lt. White explained that stolen goods are obtained through various means, including burglaries in the middle of the night and cargo theft rings using fraudulent bills of lading to divert entire truckloads of merchandise.
He recounted a recent incident where a crew stole 100 chain saws from a construction site in Shasta County. Detectives recovered about 40 of these saws in the backyard of a Downey home after they were advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
Shoplifting remains the most common method of theft. Wong noted that some thieves are discreet, concealing items in handbags or under clothing, while others are brazen. “We see people walking in with bags or a cart, filling them up and walking out,” Wong said. “The industry term is a ‘walkout.’”
“Blitz” Operations
The task force has been conducting “blitz” operations targeting retailers frequently hit by theft. On a recent afternoon, plainclothes detectives were stationed in an unmarked car at the Plaza La Alameda shopping center in South Los Angeles, where a Bath & Body Works had been targeted the previous day.
Wong monitored a radio, listening as employees from Bath & Body Works and a Marshalls relayed descriptions of potential shoplifters. An employee reported that a couple entered Marshalls with empty bags, a possible indicator of theft. However, a few minutes later, the employee clarified that it was a false alarm, as the pair left without taking anything.
The detectives’ radio crackled again: A man inside Marshalls was using pliers to remove security sensors from clothing and stuffing the items down his waistband. As he exited the store and entered a red Nissan Versa without license plates, deputies blocked the car and arrested him. A Marshalls employee confirmed that the clothing in his car was stolen from the store.
Following the Suspects
Other times, Wong said, they follow shoplifters, hoping to be led to a fence. In the summer of 2024, detectives trailed two individuals suspected of stealing approximately $47,000 worth of goods from Ulta Beauty stores in California and Nevada, according to a search warrant affidavit written by Det. Jonathan Blue.
On the evening of Aug. 1, 2024, one of the suspects filled a tote bag with cosmetics inside an Ulta Beauty store in West Covina and left. Detectives followed the thief to a suspected fence named Norma Rodas.
Blue wrote that one woman investigators followed arrived at Rodas’ apartment in the Pueblo del Rio public housing project in South Los Angeles with five “bulging” bags and entered without knocking. Rodas could not be reached, and her attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
The Fence
Detectives learned that the 60-year-old Rodas operated a small storefront in an indoor swap meet on Los Angeles Street in downtown L.A., alongside vendors selling belt buckles, party supplies, men’s shirts, and Japanese swords. Investigators from Target and CVS visited Rodas’ shop and found shelves stocked with items still bearing price tags from their stores, along with stickers from Walgreens and TJ Maxx, Blue wrote.
Some goods were advertised for less than half the retail price. For example, a Target investigator purchased a bottle of Biosilk Therapy Beach Texture Spray for $7, even though it had a TJ Maxx price tag of $18, according to the affidavit.
During a raid on Rodas’ business in February, investigators from CVS and Target estimated that it contained $1 million worth of stolen goods, according to a police report. Deputies also searched her apartment in Pueblo del Rio, confiscating $8,000 and an “unknown amount of foreign currency.”
Rodas has pleaded not guilty to charges of receiving stolen property and remains out on bail. Across the street from Rodas’ shop was Big Apple, a bodega-style store where L.A. County sheriff’s detectives seized $1 million.
