Thread: CA: Two-year-old Ross shoplifting ring busted

Two-year-old Ross shoplifting ring busted

San Diego Union Tribune
By Pauline Repard
January 7, 2011

A sophisticated shoplifting ring that targeted Ross stores around the county for the past two years, and stole an estimated $300,000 in goods, was broken up with the arrests of five San Marcos residents, sheriff’s officials said Thursday.

Investigators who had staked out an Encinitas Ross store Wednesday night stopped the five men and women in two vehicles packed with about $6,000 worth of stolen goods, said sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Poulin.

Detectives then seized some 3,000 items, including brand-name purses, jeans, shoes and children’s clothes with store tags on, from one San Marcos home and from a mobile storage box at the Oceanside Swap Meet, Poulin said.

Detectives used a 15-foot-long evidence truck to haul away all the confiscated goods, including some Christmas decorations still in bags. They also seized four cars and SUVs from the suspects.

Arrested on felony charges were suspected ringleader, Heriberto Tolentino, 42; William Cruz, 26; Benita Rubio, 46’ Maria Oros, 45; and Diana Palazios, 37, Poulin said.

He said all five are Mexican nationals in the United States illegally.

“It is possible the activities of this highly organized retail theft organization could reach beyond the boundaries of San Diego County,â€

Originally Posted by American-ized

Arrested on felony charges were suspected ringleader, Heriberto Tolentino, 42; William Cruz, 26; Benita Rubio, 46’ Maria Oros, 45; and Diana Palazios, 37, Poulin said.

He said all five are Mexican nationals in the United States illegally.

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NOT!!

Yeah, not exactly a surprise to find out they were here illegally is it?

Arrested on felony charges were suspected ringleader, Heriberto Tolentino, 42; William Cruz, 26; Benita Rubio, 46’ Maria Oros, 45; and Diana Palazios, 37, Poulin said.

He said all five are Mexican nationals in the United States illegally.

No freakin WAY. Could have knocked me over with a feather!

Those wonderful hard - working - just want a better life - values again! Isn't it just peachy....

Cops: Shoplifting ring run by illegal immigrants

12:34 a.m. EST, January 7, 2011

SAN DIEGO -- Five illegal immigrants who allegedly shoplifted $300,000 worth of merchandise from San Diego-area Ross Dress for Less stores over the past two years were behind bars Thursday.

William Cruz, 26, Maria Oros, 45, Diana Palazios, 37, Benita Rubio, 46, and Heriberto Tolentino, 42, who all lived in San Marcos, were arrested Wednesday in Encinitas, Sgt. Tom Poulin said.

Two vehicles they were in when they were pulled over were packed with an estimated $6,000 worth of clothes and accessories.

Due to the size of the load, they “could barely sit in the backseat of their cars,'' and the women had more items stuffed under their shirts and in their bras, according to Poulin.

The thefts began last May, after shoplifters struck at a Ross store at Santee Town Center.

An attempted theft at the same location several weeks later went awry when a security guard sent them fleeing, Poulin said.

“Later that evening, the loss-prevention officer's personal vehicle was vandalized in the store parking lot,'' the sergeant said. “All four tires had been slashed, and a chemical substance poured on the exterior of the car.''

Similar vehicle vandalism crimes also occurred on six other occasions when the burglars were caught in the act, according to investigators.

The retail-larceny spree is believed to have gone on for at least two years, with the bandits striking up to several times per week and getting away with roughly $150,000 worth of goods annually.

The thieves were “brazen,'' stuffing merchandise under their clothing, grabbing purses and filling them with other shoplifted goods, and using tools they carried with them to cut off anti-theft alarm triggers from items.

They generally struck during the midweek, then sold their loot on the street and at a regular weekend swap meet in Oceanside, where they worked a half-dozen sales booths and used a mobile miniature storage unit to store the stolen merchandise, Poulin said.

After the arrests, detectives served search warrants at two locales in the North County. A storage box at the Oceanside Swap Meet grounds was found to be fully loaded with stolen merchandise from Ross stores. More valuables looted from the chain were recovered from a house on Johnston Lane in San Marcos.

“In all, a 15-foot box truck was used to haul away all the stolen property,'' Poulin said. “Detectives are still going through items and making additional discoveries.''

Additionally, a handwritten list of license-plate numbers -- apparently those of Ross employees -- was found among the suspects' property.

“Although this investigation is in its early stages, it is possible the activities of this highly organized retail-theft organization could reach beyond the boundaries of San Diego County,'' the sergeant said. “At this time the investigation is ongoing, with additional arrests expected.''


http://www.courant.com/news/kswb-5-jail ... 2499.story

He said all five are Mexican nationals in the United States illegally.

Anyone that has been to a flea market knows that the Mexican illegals are using them as storefronts for tax free income and one would wonder where the goods they sell come from.

Illegal Immigrants Plead Not Guilty to Shoplifting Ring
January 7, 2011

Illegal immigrants were arrested in Encinitas Wednesday for their alleged involvement in an extensive retail theft spree that apparently began in
Santee.

By Jennifer Reed

The thefts began in May at this Ross store in Santee Town Center.


Five illegal immigrants accused of shoplifting $300,000 worth of merchandise from San Diego-area Ross Dress for Less stores over the past two years pleaded not guilty on Friday to conspiracy, grand theft and burglary charges.

William Cruz, 26, Maria Oros, 45, Diana Palazios, 37, Benita Rubio, 46, and Heriberto Tolentino, 42, all from San Marcos, ended up behind bars Wednesday after a traffic stop in Encinitas, Sgt. Tom Poulin said.

All but Oros are charged with 11 felony counts, the prosecutor said.

According to the prosecutor, if convicted, they each face up to five years in prison.

According to Poulin, the two vehicles the suspects were driving when they were pulled over were packed with an estimated $6,000 worth of clothes and accessories from the retail chain. Due to the size of the load, he said, they “could barely sit in the backseat of their cars.â€

The border patrol would have a field day at every flea market in California.

The brazen way that they conducted their thefts is mirrored by the brazen sense of entitlement spouted by Reconquistas.
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