The CHP arrested three retail thieves at The Outlets at Orange as they were trying to steal thousands of dollars of retail merchandise.
Two of the thieves were spotted by CHP officers from the Organized Retail Crime Task Force when they were seen walking toward the mall with bags lined with foil to help to steal merchandise without triggering the anti-theft alarms at stores.The bags are referred to as “booster bags.”
The CHP officers saw one of the suspects come out of a store with his booster bags fully loaded. As the male suspect walked out a female accomplice walked in.
The suspect then dumped the stolen merchandise into a minivan in the parking lot. The CHP investigators then arrested him and waited for his accomplice to return to the minivan as well.
The suspects used the booster bags as well as tools designed to disable security sensors to steal 31 pairs of Levi’s jeans worth $2,202.
The CHP investigators stuck around at The Outlets and about an hour later saw another suspect acting in a suspicious manner. The suspect had another booster bag filled with merchandise. The CHP investigators stopped him and found he had expensive Gucci clothing worth at least $2,499. The suspect also had burglary tools that were almost identical to the tools the other suspects were equipped with.
The three suspects were arrested on charges of violating California’s Organized Retail Crime law and multiple other theft charges.
