Boise police arrest 4 members of ‘organized retail crime’ group after $20K in thefts

Police arrested four people Tuesday on suspicion of stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from a local store. According to a Boise Police Department news release, the group is suspected of similar thefts across the West Coast.

All of the suspects, who police said are from Los Angeles, face felony charges of burglary and grand theft.

According to the news release, police began investigating a reported retail theft at a store on the 500 block of North Milwaukee Street at around 1 p.m. Officials said the suspects “worked together” to steal about $4,700 worth of merchandise before heading to a second location of the same franchise on the 2300 block of North Eagle Road in Meridian.

Ulta Beauty, a cosmetics chain, has stores at both locations. A police photograph of merchandise recovered from the suspects showed dozens of makeup items and perfume bottles from high-end brands.

Boise Police Department’s organized retail crime unit anticipated that the suspects would go to the second Ulta location, the news release said.

Employees at the Meridian store called police before the group took any merchandise, according to the release, and Boise and Meridian police arrested the four suspects after the group split up in the parking lot.

It wasn’t immediately clear why police suspected the two men and two women of being part of an organized ring. In the release, Boise Police Cpl. Marshall Plaisted, of the organized retail crime unit, said the group “has been traveling through several West Coast states for the last several weeks committing multiple thefts surpassing $20,000.”