robbers indicted....

SAN DIEGO – A well-organized and often violent group of thieves has stolen more than $20 million worth of merchandise from high-end shopping malls here and around the country, according to an indictment unsealed today which charges 22 people.

A contingent of more than 250 officials from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies made 12 arrests today and searched three homes in Lemon Grove, Chula Vista and San Diego. Three defendants were already in custody; seven were fugitives as of 1 p.m. today. The defendants in custody are scheduled to make their first court appearances at 10 a.m. tomorrow before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Lynn Major.

"During searches today, agents confiscated approximately $30,000 in cash plus about a dozen large trash bags full of new clothing - with merchandise tags and security devices still attached - from retailers such as Victoria’s Secret, Hollister Co., Guess, Express and Abercrombie & Fitch, and brands such as Calvin Klein, Hurley, Armani, Adidas, Kenneth Cole and Puma. Agents also found piles of new Louis Vuitton shoes and boxes full of security sensors that had been removed from clothing.

The indictment describes how defendants from the San Diego area formed crews of thieves to steal merchandise from retail stores throughout the United States and transport the merchandise across state lines for sale in Mexico. The well-organized teams operated consistently for over a decade. The indictment describes how team leaders assigned each member a specific role, such as team leader, mule or blocker. Team leaders selected stores to target, scouted the stores, and choreographed the actions of other team members using cell phones and hand signals while Mules secreted the stolen merchandise out of stores in “booster bags,” which are shopping bags with metallic linings designed to defeat anti-theft sensors. Blockers prevented store employees from seeing the ongoing theft by obstructing their view with clothing, by distracting the employees, or by physically preventing the employees from responding.

When necessary, the teams used force against store employees, other customers, and law enforcement to escape. For example, the indictment alleges that in November 2009, defendant Sergio Manuel Montano Nava knocked over an infant in its stroller and injured the infant’s father to avoid being arrested for a theft at a Hollister store in Schaumburg, Illinois.

In November 2012, defendants Jose Damazo Herrera, Robin Macias and others drove vehicles through a crowd while fleeing a theft from a Hollister store in the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego. The thefts alleged in the indictment typically resulted in losses of several thousand dollars in merchandise.

In March 2013, a defendant grabbed a loss prevention officer by the throat and threw her to the ground while running from a theft at Abercrombie & Fitch at the Plaza Bonita Mall in National City.

The indictment lists 38 thefts which occurred at locations around the country at various clothing stores, including Victoria’s Secret, Hollister Co., Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic and Express in the California cities of Escondido, San Diego, National City, San Clemente, Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, City of Industry, Orange, Mission Viejo, Northridge, Canoga Park; and outside the state in Las Vegas, Nevada; Frederick, Maryland; Vancouver, Washington; and Schaumburg, Illinois."

What were these thugs thinking that they would never get caught? Now they face the wrath of the feds....

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