4 charged in NorCal theft ring that stole over $92K in Home Depot merchandise

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Four men have been charged with organized retail crimes, which led to tens of thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise up and down Northern California.

On Thursday, they appeared in court for the first time and were charged with several serious felonies.

Over four months, at dozens of Home Depot stores across 11 counties, nearly 200 heists led to more than $92,000 in stolen merchandise.

For the four suspects involved, it led to arrest and possibly years in prison.

"We will find you," said Santa Clara Co. Sheriff's Office Senior Communications Officer Brooks Jarosz. "And even if you don't live in Santa Clara County, it's only a matter of time. We will come there and get you."

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The retail theft ring bust comes after months of investigating by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Retail Theft Task Force and other agencies.

Investigators learned the thieves' strategy was simple, yet organized.

"They would hit these stores, sometimes daily, stealing high-powered tools, pliers, blades, saws, anything you could possibly imagine. They'd simply walk in, take stuff off shelves and walk right out," Jarosz said.

Home Depot tipped off law enforcement to these crimes. Similar thefts at stores across Northern California, from Sacramento to Santa Cruz and everywhere in between, led investigators to the four suspects' homes and storage units.

"After we identified these locations, we had a multi-agency bust where we were in San Mateo County, we were in Contra Costa County and Alameda County, all at the same time, hitting these locations," Jarosz said. "And we found $92,000 worth of stolen stuff."

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The men from Richmond, South San Francisco and San Leandro appeared in court Thursday. They faced felony charges of retail theft, grand theft, vandalism and other related crimes.

A landmark bill package in California allows Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen to prosecute the ring.

AB 1779, the retail theft prevention law, allows a single office to save time and money by prosecuting organized retail thieves who cross county lines in one jurisdiction.

"By charging all the cases in one complaint, then a judge, when it comes time for sentencing, can see the full scope of the thefts in this case, the amount of loss, and give an appropriate sentence," Rosen said. In this case, it will be prison time, decades in prison."