LOS ANGELES – Three men have been arrested in connection with an organized retail theft ring that targeted stores such as Lowe’s, The Home Depot and Harbor Freight at locations throughout the Southland, authorities said Tuesday.
Investigators from the California Highway Patrol’s Organized Retail Crime Taskforce served a search warrant at a hardware and plumbing supply business in the city of Los Angeles on Monday, said CHP Sgt. Alejandro Rubio.
The month-long investigation resulted in the arrests of Jose Rivera, 54, Fernando Hernandez, 43, and Rogelio Ramirez Salgado, 45, “for their active participation in organized retail theft,” Rubio said.
Authorities seized about $500,000 in stolen merchandise, along with five firearms and about $30,000, Rubio said.
Among the stolen items recovered were water heaters, furnaces, extension ladders, five-gallon buckets of paint, tools and plumbing fixtures, Rubio said. The items were taken from various retail stores around the Southland, Rubio said.
