SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Retail theft continues to be a problem plaguing California, and everyday people have been paying the price for it.
Over two days at four Sacramento Targets, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office arrested 96 people for retail theft.
Detective Andy Cater is with the Property Crime Division and specializes in organized retail crimes.
“You can’t paint a singular picture of a retail theft suspect because they are everywhere and everything,” said Cater.
Cater knows the people he’s chasing are brazen.
“We parked a patrol car in front of the exit, and in the process of walking an arrestee to the car, other people were coming in and stealing behind us,” said Cater.
They arrested some of the same people in this operation that they came across in December with another sting operation.
Cater said they are a bit creative.
“Detectives removed the blanket, (and) they realized the car seat was empty. They were just using the car seat as a place to hide their stolen items,” said Cater.
Deputies have been arresting people from ages 11 to 63 years old from all over Sacramento County to the Bay Area. They even arrested a person riding their bike and stealing items from every Target in the county. They also caught people they call "boosters," who steal for organized retail theft rings.
“Each person or group had something they were focusing on. We did have group focusing on just cosmetics, we had a group just focused on meat and then some folks that do their daily or weekly shopping by stealing,” said Cater.
Of the 96 arrests, nine were felonies. In California, the amount stolen must exceed $950 to be charged as a felony. The rest were cited for a misdemeanor and released.
“The environment the state legislature has placed law enforcement agencies and other members of the justice system is not sustainable because folks are not staying in custody. They aren’t learning their lessons,” said Cater.
District attorney Thien Ho said his office will prosecute misdemeanor and felony retail theft.
Since the launch of the task force earlier this year, they’ve moved forward with 50 cases.
“We don’t have a threshold. Essentially, if the evidence is there and we can prosecute somebody for stealing or committing a theft in Sacramento County, we will hold you responsible for it,” said Ho.
Grant funding for retail theft operations is available for the next three years to continue operations. The state is already considering extending it for another two years.
WATCH ALSO:
