11 arrested, $7.6K worth recovered in Southern California retail theft bust

On Thursday, police announced the arrests of 11 people and recovery of about $7,600 worth of stolen merchandise in an end-of-January retail theft bust operation in San Bernardino County.

The Redlands Police Department posted a video compilation of the arrests on Facebook, saying in the caption that the arrests were a result of its Community Engagement Team conducting a 6-hour-long operation on Jan. 30.

Officers conducted the bust at Mountain Grove and Citrus Plaza shopping centers, and, in the end, said they recovered stolen merchandise from stores including Target, Ross, Victoria’s Secret, World Market and BevMo.

One of those arrested was identified as 28-year-old Maria Isabel Torres of Los Angeles, a woman who investigators said committed a series of retail thefts throughout Southern California.

“Torres was spotted at the Ross store in Redlands shortly after she was identified as the suspect in an earlier theft of merchandise at a Nordstrom Rack in the City of Riverside,” RPD said in a release.

The police department said a Nordstrom Rack retail theft investigator provided officers with a clothing description and photo of Torres, which police used to positively identify her.

“Another woman, Maria Isabel Hernandez, 53, of Los Angeles, acted as a lookout while Torres loaded merchandise into a suitcase and exited the store with the stolen items,” detailed RPD. “Torres and Hernandez used Bluetooth devices to communicate with each other during the theft.”

Through contacting Torres inside her van, police said officers found $3,400 worth of merchandise taken from the store, along with another $2,600 of merchandise stolen from the Nordstrom Rack.

“Both Torres and Hernandez were arrested,” said RPD. “Torres currently has several pending cases for thefts in San Diego, Riverside, and Los Angeles.”

This operation served similarly to one conducted by RPD earlier in January, resulting in the arrests of 19 suspects from the same shopping centers.

RPD said its officers worked in cooperation with store employees, loss prevention officers and retail theft investigators from several retail stores.