Arrests made after crackdown on mass thefts from Bay Area T.J. Maxx stores

SAN JOSE — Authorities have announced arrests and the recovery of roughly $380,000 worth of merchandise stolen from T.J. Maxx stores throughout the Bay Area, following an organized retail theft investigation by the Santa Clara County sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices.

Eight people were arrested in San Jose on Aug. 12 in connection with the case, according to the sheriff’s office, and eight more are being sought.

“The successful take down of this organized retail theft crew reflects the dedication, professionalism, and teamwork of everyone involved,” Sheriff Robert Jonsen said in a statement Tuesday.

The investigation was launched in May after T.J. Maxx officials contacted the sheriff’s office to report that a group was targeting the discount department chain’s Bay Area stores, including repeated thefts on a single day. The stolen goods were believed to have been later sold at flea markets in San Jose, the sheriff’s office said.

In the ensuing months, investigators with the sheriff’s office and district attorney’s office conducted surveillance and monitored the group, leading to them identify 16 suspects and five locations where the stolen goods — which included clothing, luggage, home goods and other sundries — were stored, authorities said.

Investigators served search and arrest warrants on four homes and a storage unit in San Jose, Mountain View and Gilroy. In San Jose, they reportedly seized more than $225,000 worth of stolen items from a home on Dobern Avenue, and upwards of $100,000 in stolen items from a home on Giannotta Way.

Additionally, the sheriff’s office said investigators linked the group to at least 80 thefts and observed at least $53,000 in merchandise being stolen.

Eight people were arrested on suspicion of organized retail theft, conspiracy, grand theft, and receiving stolen property, with their ages ranging from 19 to 66. Three men, ages 19 to 41, are being sought by authorities, and five other alleged members of the group have not been positively identified, the sheriff’s office said.

Anyone with information for sheriff’s investigators can send an email to ORT@shf.sccgov.org.