Eight suspects linked to Marin thefts charged

Prosecutors have charged eight suspects with stealing about $1 million in merchandise from Apple Store locations in Marin and 10 other counties, the state attorney general announced Thursday.

The alleged scheme occurred between August 2022 and last month. The defendants allegedly held employees and customers back while stealing the electronics.

The defendants are charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit organized retail theft and 14 counts of grand theft, according to a criminal complaint filed by Deputy Attorney General Asiel Mohmoud. They are also charged with white-collar enhancements that could increase their sentences.

The Apple Store in Marin County is at the Village at Corte Madera mall. The other crimes occurred in Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Yolo counties.

The arrests capped an investigation by the California Highway Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies throughout the state.

Attorney General Rob Bonta, in a press conference at the California Highway Patrol's regional headquarters in Vallejo, said the suspects would enter the stores and “in minutes, or seconds” grab merchandise while others in the gang deterred employees.

Bonta said drivers would be waiting in a vehicle to make the getaway.

“This is not petty theft,” Bonta said. “This is organized. This won't be tolerated in our state.”

The defendants are Leo David Smith, Aron Thomas, Marques Fields, Michael White, David Nesterenko, Mikhail Moroz, Maksim Pazyuk and Rubina Yoder, also known as Rubina Pazyuk.

The attorney general's office did not release their ages or cities of residence. The criminal complaint says Maksim Pazyuk and Rubina Pazyuk operate iMax Prices LLC, a mobile phone store in Sacramento, and that Nesterenko and Moroz live in Sacramento.

The contacts in Smith's phone included the number for iMax Prices, the complaint says. Nesterenko works for iMax Prices and sells Apple products to the store, according to the filing. Moroz also allegedly sells Apple products to the business.

The complaint alleges that the Corte Madera store was targeted twice. Smith allegedly stole merchandise from the store on Aug. 2, 2022, and Smith and Fields stole items there on Sept. 18, 2022.

The prosecution filed the complaint in Yolo County.

Other agencies involved in the investigation included the Oakland Police Department, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office the U.S. Marshal's Office.