Four Modesto residents suspected of being part of an organized retail crime (ORC) ring were arrested after allegedly taking several shopping carts full of goods from the store, authorities said Friday.
The incident occurred just before 1 PM Wednesday, when Walmart reported two males and two females had pushed shopping carts full of merchandise out of the store without paying for them. After taking the carts to a vehicle, the group went back in the store for two more shopping carts full of merchandise, the Manteca Police Department reported in a Facebook post Friday.
Walmart loss prevention employees attempted to detain the two males, but they refused to comply. The two males walked away from loss prevention employees and into the parking lot, where they were stopped and detained by Manteca police officers. The two females were detained as well.
After further investigation, all four suspects were found to be part of an organized retail crime group from Modesto, police said. The investigation revealed that the group was involved in printing false purchase stickers for Walmart to avoid paying for the merchandise in the store. Some $1,500 worth of electronic merchandise was found in their vehicle and turned over to Walmart by the officers.
Manteca police say they are continuing to “aggressively enforce retail crimes” and work with local retailers to deter theft. The department is currently running a pilot program involving a detective dedicated solely to organized retail crimes.
Arrested on suspicion of organized retail theft and other charges were Angelina Alvarez, 32, Kaitlyn Stolze, 28; Carl Goodman, 39; and Robert Gonzalez, 40, all of Modesto. All remained in custody Friday evening at the County Jail with bail not allowed pending arraignment… Recordnet.com
