A Southern California father and his daughter were arrested in connection with a $400,000 retail theft operation that sold stolen items at a swap meet, the California Highway Patrol announced Aug. 20.
Johny Arciniegas-Cortes, 46, and his daughter Paula Arciniegas, 28, were arrested Aug. 14 by CHP investigators in Anaheim.
“The father and daughter team has been observed numerous times committing retail thefts throughout Southern California,” the CHP said in a press release Tuesday, adding that the two were responsible for stealing about $10,000 in merchandise from several retailers.
Arciniegas-Cortes and Arciniegas were charged with two felony counts of grand theft, one felony count of conspiring to commit a crime, and four misdemeanor counts of shoplifting with a value of less than $950.
Another suspect, Jose Cuadra, 41, of Inglewood, about 12 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, was identified by investigators as the alleged leader of the fencing operation, according to the CHP.
Authorities say Cuadra stored stolen merchandise and sold it at an open-air market in Torrance, about 20 miles southwest of Los Angeles.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed four felony charges against Cuadra, including two counts of receiving stolen property, one count of organized retail theft in concert with two or more people, and one count of the manufacture and sale of counterfeit merchandise.
The CHP has Organized Retail Theft teams based in Orange County, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The teams work with retailers to combat sophisticated crews that continue to steal merchandise throughout the state.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in April that state law enforcement’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force had made nearly 475 arrests and recovered more than 160,000 stolen goods valued at nearly $4.2 million since Jan. 1.
Newsom also signed 10 new laws Aug. 16 aimed at cracking down on retail theft, a crime on the rise in California.After months of negotiations this session, bills addressing retail theft were passed by the Legislature after lawmakers prioritized public safety legislation.
Two of the new laws—Senate Bills 982 and 905—will allow prosecutors to combine the total value of stolen property when charging retail crime suspects.
California’s existing law allows criminals to steal up to $950 in items before the crime becomes a felony. Law enforcement has reported an uptick in thieves who are ticketed for a misdemeanor for stealing less than $950 from one store, only to do the same in another store hours later.
The new laws will allow prosecutors to combine all merchandise stolen by the defendant from all stores.
Assembly Bill 2943 will allow officers to arrest shoplifters even if they didn’t witness the crime. It also strengthens penalties for petty theft, allowing two years of probation to be ordered, instead of one. Organized retail theft will now also be punishable by up to three years in jail.
Retailers will also be able to seek restraining orders on shoplifters that prohibit those convicted of organized retail theft from entering locations for up to two years.
Five other bills signed into law make prosecuting criminals easier, and another orders sentencing enhancements for those responsible for reselling stolen merchandise.
