An organized crime ring stole more than $10 million worth of merchandise during hundreds of thefts at Home Depot stores across Southern California, authorities said in announcing the arrests of 14 alleged members of the ring.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced the filing of a 48-count criminal complaint against the14-member crew, which is alleged to have been part of the “largest organized retail theft case uncovered in Home Depot’s history,” Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said at a Tuesday press conference.
Members of the operation stole more than 600 separate times from 71 Home Depot stores across Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. The months long multi-agency effort dubbed “Operation Kill Switch” resulted in the arrest of all 14 members, with nine having been charged so far, according to Fryhoff.
David Ahl, a San Fernando Valley resident who ran a wholesale business, is the alleged mastermind behind the operation.
“His crew of thieves known as boosters would steal merchandise from the Home Depot stores, sometimes hitting every Home Depot in Ventura County in a single day,” Fryhoff said. “Then the boosters would deliver the stolen items in trash bags or Home Depot boxes to his business or to his home where he’d pay them in cash.”
Stolen items would allegedly be resold at a reduced price to contractors or others in the electrical business, a tactic known as fencing. Ahl is in custody, faces 48 felony counts, and could serve a maximum sentence of 32 years in state prison.
Omid Abrishamkar, Ahl’s brother-in-law, allegedly resold stolen goods on Amazon and Ebay, authorities said. Abrishamkar faces 11 felony counts and a maximum sentence of 16 years and eight months in state prison.
Ahl’s ex-wife, Lorena Solis, and her boyfriend, Enrique Neira Moreno, allegedly ran an identical fencing operation of their own. They each face eight counts of conspiracy and could serve up to seven years and eight months in state prison.
The main boosters allegedly stole goods from Home Depots across SoCal, with each trip accounting for six to ten thousand dollars in stolen merchandise, authorities said. Jose Banuelos Guerrero, Edwin Rivera, and Eber Bonilla Lopez are linked to over 600 thefts at 71 different Home Depots, and face felonies.
Another group of boosters, Erlin Hernandez Lopez and Denny Gomez, allegedly stole electrical items several times a week from Home Depot stores in SoCal. They are charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit organized retail theft. Each member of the booster crews are in custody and face sentences between four to 21 years in state prison.
Fryhoff said the case remains ongoing and more arrests are likely.