On August 20, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) announced the arrest of a father-daughter duo in Southern California suspected of being part of a retail theft ring worth $400,000. The ring was selling stolen goods at flea markets.
46-year-old Johny Arciniegas-Cortes and his 28-year-old daughter Paula Arciniegas were arrested by CHP investigators on August 14 in Anaheim.
According to a press release on Tuesday (August 20), the father-daughter duo are accused of stealing approximately $10,000 worth of merchandise from multiple retail stores in Southern California. Cortes and Arciniegas face two felony theft charges, one felony conspiracy charge, and four misdemeanor charges of shoplifting items valued at less than $950.
Another suspect, Jose Cuadra, a 41-year-old resident of Inglewood, was identified as the leader of the ring. He was accused of collecting stolen goods and selling them at an open market in Torrance. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed four felony charges against Cuadra, including two counts of receiving stolen property, one count of organizing retail theft with others, and one count of manufacturing and selling counterfeit goods.
CHP has special units called “Organized Retail Theft Task Forces” in Orange County, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area, which collaborate with retailers to combat professional theft groups operating statewide. Governor Newsom announced in April that since the beginning of the year, these task forces have arrested nearly 475 suspects and recovered over 160,000 stolen items valued at nearly $4.2 million.
Governor Newsom signed 10 new laws on August 16 to combat the increasing retail theft crimes in California. Among them, SB982 and SB905 allow prosecutors to aggregate the total value of stolen property when charging retail crime suspects. Under Proposition 47 in California, stealing property valued at less than $950 is considered a misdemeanor. Enforcement reports indicate that some thieves steal goods under $950 in one store, receive a misdemeanor charge, and then repeat the offense in another store a few hours later.
AB2943 allows law enforcement to arrest shoplifters even without witnessing the crime firsthand. Additionally, the law increases penalties for thieves, with a maximum probation period of two years (previously one year). Organized retail theft can now lead to a maximum of three years in prison.
Furthermore, retailers can apply for restraining orders against thieves convicted of organized retail theft, prohibiting them from entering specific locations for up to two years.
Five other new laws have been established to streamline prosecution of criminals, and one law mandates harsher punishments for those involved in reselling stolen goods.