Immigration Reform Examiner
Dave Gibson

Illegal alien shoplifting ring stole $300,000 worth of goods

Ross stores targeted by illegal aliens

On Thursday, five illegal aliens pleaded guilty to conspiracy, grand theft and burglary in a shoplifting scheme that targeted San Diego-area Ross clothing stores.

According to prosecutors, the thieves struck the same stores several times a week for two years, netting them approximately $150,000 a year in stolen goods.

Mexican nationals William Cruz Pena, 26, Maria Delaluz Oros, 45, Benita Rubio, 47, and Heriberto Tolentino, 42, will serve two-year prison terms, while Diana Palazios, 37, will be sentenced to a year in the county jail.

They were arrested on January 5, during a traffic stop in Encinitas. They were caught with $6,000 worth of clothes and accessories they had just stolen. Police Sgt. Tom Poulin said, they “could barely sit in the backseat of their cars.â€