2 arrested, accused of receiving stolen property from retail theft ring

A man and a woman were arrested in Anaheim on suspicion of receiving stolen property from organized retail theft crews, with officials finding more than $463,000 in stolen property, authorities said.

Jesus Ortiz, 48, of Lynwood and Yolanda De La Rosa, 49, of Anaheim were arrested Feb. 24 after California Highway Patrol officers served search warrants at three locations and found more than 14,000 items stolen from retail stores, including clothes, shoes, purses, cologne and perfume, CHP officials said.

De La Rosa was arrested in a prior bust, in September 2021, when the CHP recovered more than $2 million in stolen merchandise from an Anaheim mobile home. She pleaded guilty Jan. 20, 2022, to organized retail theft and receiving stolen property and was sentenced to 364 days in county jail and two years of probation, court records show. She was on probation at the time of the recent arrest.

The CHP's Organized Retail Crime Task Force began its investigation in January for the more recent case and saw multiple people delivering stolen property to an Anaheim apartment, CHP officials said.

Investigators learned two other locations, in Bellflower and in Lynwood, also were associated with a crew, officials said.

Thieves targeted big-box retail stores in Anaheim, Tustin, Corona, Riverside and Los Angeles, stealing items made by Nike, Calvin Klein, Coach, Adidas and Columbia, said Officer Jake Sanchez, a CHP spokesman.

In general, Sanchez said, such retail theft crews go into stores and pick up a suitcase as if they're going to buy it, then fill it up with stuff and walk out. Other times, they just run out with the items.

Sometimes, he said, they have devices to block the sensors near the front door so they don't go off. In some cases, the thieves also have the tool needed to unhook sensors from clothing items so they don't get detected when walking out.

De La Rosa had been identified partly because of her previous arrest, Sanchez said. Both also were identified based upon their vehicles.

Since its inception in 2019, the Organized Retail Crime Task Force has been involved in 1,470 investigations, making 855 arrests and recovering more than $28 million in stolen merchandise, officials said. The task force was created to combat theft rings and has made busts in Los Angeles' Harbor Gateway neighborhood and in Garden Grove.