Eight individuals concerned in a string of high-end “smash-and-grab” robberies throughout Southern California had been sentenced to state jail, the results of a multi-agency effort designed to sort out a rash of retail thefts within the area.
Amongst these convicted had been individuals concerned within the flash-mob fashion theft of Nordstrom on the Westfield Topanga Procuring Heart final yr, the place a mob of about 50 individuals ransacked racks and show circumstances, dashing out of the shop with tens of hundreds of {dollars} in loot.
Movies of the brazen daytime theft went viral and sparked outrage as individuals had been seen operating out, utilizing bear spray and sedans with no license plates to make their getaway.
“It was disturbing and stunning and unacceptable,” Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta mentioned throughout a information convention Tuesday. “In case you put our communities in danger, you’ll be held accountable.”
The eight individuals had been concerned in a number of robberies between Might and August 2023 that struck high-end shops like Nordstrom, Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Gucci, and Magnolia Park, Bonta mentioned. In all, greater than $1.7 million in losses had been recorded in the course of the robberies.
Not all the defendants had been concerned in all the robberies, Bonta mentioned, which spanned Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. However the defendants appeared to have communicated all through social media, placing out calls to place collectively a “crew” to focus on particular shops at particular days and occasions.
The coordinated robberies didn’t seem to have a central organizer or a way to get money for the stolen items, Bonta mentioned. As a substitute, defendants appeared to speak by social media to coordinate when to focus on sure shops to keep away from police — like flash mobs.
The crews, Bonta mentioned, gave the impression to be casting a large geographic internet over which shops to focus on, hoping that the totally different jurisdictions wouldn’t coordinate investigations and hyperlink the incidents.
However Bonta mentioned the conviction and sentencing of the eight people confirmed police departments throughout the realm had been additionally sharing info to make arrests.
“We’re coordinating successfully, working collectively, and extra arrests are coming,” mentioned Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton in the course of the information convention. He famous that a number of the incidents concerned violence.
The 25-count indictment that led to the sentencing included coordination among the many legal professional basic’s workplace, Los Angeles Police, Glendale Police, Burbank Police, Beverly Hills Police, Newport Seashore Police, and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Division, he mentioned.
Those that had been sentenced:
- Jordan Harris pleaded responsible to at least one depend of carjacking, two counts of grand theft involving incidents at YSL in Glendale and Nordstrom at Topanga Canyon Mall. He was sentenced to 10 years and 4 months in state jail.
- Kip Henry pleaded responsible to at least one depend of theft on the Nordstrom at Topanga Canyon mall, and one depend of grand theft at a Louis Vuitton retailer in Newport Seashore. He was sentenced to seven years and 4 months in state jail.
- Devon Perry pleaded responsible to 2 counts of grand theft, together with an incident at a Burberry Outlet in Riverside and at Nordstrom at Topanga Canyon mall. He was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months in state prision.
- Ziona Famoso pleaded responsible to at least one depend of theft from the Nordstrom at Topanga Canyon mall, and two counts of grand theft from YSL in Glendale and Louis Vuitton in Newport Seashore. She was sentenced to 4 years and 4 months in state jail.
- Alana Hart pleaded responsible to assault and grand theft involving the Burberry Outlet in Riverside. She was sentenced to 4 years in jail.
- Travelle Hamblet pleaded responsible to at least one depend of theft at Nordstrom within the Topanga mall, and was sentenced to 4 years in state jail.
- Jason Smith pleaded responsible to theft on the YSL in Glendale and sentenced to a few years.
- Briana Jimenez pleaded responsible to theft at YSL in Glendale and sentenced to at least one yr in jail.
- Ivan Ramirez has additionally pleaded responsible to theft and theft, however is about to be sentenced in 2025.
Though a number of the defendants gave the impression to be coordinating what shops to focus on, there didn’t appear to be an organized effort in how the culprits would use the stolen items, Bonta mentioned.
There was no single “fence” he mentioned, and most of the individuals concerned gave the impression to be attempting to promote the stolen merchandise on social media and in chat rooms.
The rash of retail thefts has change into an indicator of the crime downside in some cities.
Movies of perpetrators smashing show circumstances, or dashing out of shops with arms filled with merchandise, have unfold rapidly on social media and in native information and political adverts.
The trouble marked the newest effort to crack down on the surge of retail theft crimes.
Final yr, Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced a Retail Public Security Plan to focus on retail theft. In April, Newsom’s workplace introduced the state’s Organized Retail Crime Job Pressure arrested 474 people and recovered practically $4.2 million of products as a part of 185 investigations in 2024.
The rash of flash-mob-style robberies in Los Angeles in 2023 prompted Mayor Karen Bass to announce one other process drive of native and federal companies to focus on the thefts, in addition to work with retailers to reinforce safety and deterrence measures.
On Tuesday, Bonta mentioned that after the rash of high-profile incidents and on-line movies in 2023, the variety of incidents gave the impression to be taking place, which he credited to the fast response of native police departments in producing arrests.
“One of the best ways to discourage crime from occurring is to ensure that the people who find themselves partaking in it know they may get caught,” he mentioned.
