Busted: California and New York Law Enforcement Shut Down Crime Rings on Both Coasts

Kate Nishimura
·5 min read
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Law enforcement groups on both coasts of the U.S. are ratcheting up efforts to take down organized retail crime rings, this week announcing the arrests of groups collectively responsible for stealing more than $1 million in merchandise.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York on Thursday unsealed a five-count indictment charging six defendants with a rash of crimes including interstate transportation of stolen property, interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles and conspiracy. The suspects stand accused of stealing cars from Hertz and other rental companies and using them as getaway vehicles as they shoplifted goods from stores like Lowe’s and The Home Depot in a scheme that persisted for nearly two years.

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The defendants allegedly stole more than $800,000 in vehicles and merchandise, victimizing dozens of stores across 13 states, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Defendants Christopher World, Lovell Ambrister and Hassen Lewis were arrested Thursday morning in an operation that also uncovered a firearm with an extended magazine. They were arraigned later that day at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Meanwhile, defendants Trent Dance and Von Vincent were detained on other charges in the New York cities of Valhalla and Auburn, to be arraigned at a later date. One suspect, William Harvin, is still at large.

“As alleged, the instruction manual for these defendants was simple: commit crimes at every stage, and repeat,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said. “They stole over $300,000 in cars to drive to stores, which they robbed of over $500,000 in merchandise—and replayed this scheme at least 130 times across the East Coast. Let this serve as a warning: retail theft has real consequences.”

Peace credited the New York State Police, the Connecticut Department of Public Safety, the New York City Police Department, the Freeport Police Department, the South Burlington Police Department, the Vestal Police Department and the Wappingers Falls Police Department with assisting in the investigation.

The six defendants stole mostly from home improvement stores up and down the East Coast during the period from April 2022 to December 2023, boosting a range of merchandise like Lutron lighting products with the intent to resell them in New York. Court filings showed that at least $516,000-worth of such products were taken from 71 Lowe’s stores and 59 Home Depot stores from South Carolina to Maine, with 21 in the Eastern District of New York. Each defendant “personally participated in dozens of thefts,” the filings said, with most suspects facing warrants across multiple states. They face a maximum of 10 years in prison for each interstate transportation charge and a maximum of five years for conspiracy charges.

Across the country, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that several individuals involved in a highly prolific organized retail crime ring were arrested and charged this week.

Felony charges were brought against three suspects accused of targeting high-end retailers, liquor stores and smoke shops between Sept. 8 and Nov. 14 of last year. The suspects perpetrated about 25 commercial burglaries and attempted burglaries that resulted in over $650,000 in losses to the victimized retailers over the course of just over one month.

A collaborative investigation between the Contra Costa FBI Safe Streets Task Force, Concord Police Department and Walnut Creek Police Department found that the group often broke into businesses through security doors and gates late at night wearing dark clothing, masks and gloves to evade detection and obscure their identities. Once they forced their way into the locations, they loaded up garbage bags with cigarettes, alcohol, cash and other products. On two occasions, they even absconded with ATM machines from a Chevron gas station and a smoke shop.

The crime spree also included destruction of property and the looting of expensive handbags. On Oct. 3 around 4:20 a.m., one suspect crashed a stolen Land Rover through the front of a Louis Vuitton store in Walnut Creek. Between 10 and 15 thieves piled out of the vehicle to gather up merchandise valued at $246,025. On Nov. 8, six to eight suspects entered a Nordstrom in San Diego during store hours and made off with several Chanel purses worth a collective $120,000.

While police arrived on the scene quickly enough to interrupt nearly all of the incidents, the suspects were able to evade capture by fleeing into waiting vehicles. Twice, those getaway cars hit patrol vehicles, resulting in the injury of one officer.

The California Department of Justice (DOJ) filed multiple felony charges against the three suspects apprehended, including grand theft and second-degree burglary. “Organized retail theft harms businesses, retailers and consumers—and puts the public at risk,” Bonta said at a press conference Thursday. “We will continue to work together to team up to address organized retail crime in all its forms.”

“Customers deserve to walk into a store without keeping an eye on emergency exits. Workers deserve to clock in for their shift without fear that they may not be able to safely clock out. Business owners deserve to lock up after a hard day’s work without worrying about what they might find when they open in the morning,” he added. “Californians deserve to know that organized retail crime is a top priority, and I’m here today to make it clear that at the DOJ and with our local law enforcement partners, it is.”