Arrests made in retail thefts
Operation Smash & Grab nabs 13 in Victoria Gardens operation that saw merchandise loss of $10,000
A multi-agency task force made 13 arrests, including six for felonies, at the upscale Victoria Gardens shopping center in Rancho Cucamonga on Friday during the latest Operation Smash & Grab effort.
The value of the thefts of clothing, lotions and jewelry, among other items, totaled almost $10,000, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said. Two of the thefts involved multiple people, sheriff’s spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez said Monday.
The county Probation Department, Homeland Security Investigations, California Highway Patrol and the San Bernardino Police Department took part in Friday’s operation.
Sheriff Shannon Dicus, in a written statement when the task force was launched before Christmas in December, said: “Deputy sheriff’s will be undercover in retail stores throughout the county with the purpose of arresting actors engaged in retail theft.”
Operation Smash & Grab focuses its efforts on the Rancho Cucamonga, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Victorville and Chino Hills shopping districts.
Tactics include using license plate readers to identify stolen cars and those linked to thieves.
The sheriff said the department is working the District Attorney’s Office to coordinate the prosecution of suspects.
A woman walks past shops and restaurants at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga in 2020.
Law enforcement officers arrested 13people in an anti-theft operation at the shopping center on Friday.