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Lathrop PD busts group believed connected with $40,000 in Target thefts
lathrop police badge
This is the badge for the new Lathrop Police Department debuting on July 1.

A group believed to be responsible for hitting as many as 50 Target stores as part of an organized retail theft operation are behind bars thanks to the Lathrop Police Department.

According to the agency, officers last week were dispatched to the Lathrop Target location after receiving a report of a theft in progress – detaining three suspects including one that had stolen property in their possession.

During the course of the investigation officers discovered that the group – which actually included a fourth person, presumably serving as the getaway driver, that fled when officers arrived – had hit multiple Target locations in the East Bay Area before coming to Target.

A deputy from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office responded to Lathrop with a witness that identified the three individuals as those that had conducted the earlier robberies, and further inquiry determined that the group was responsible for hitting nearly four dozen Target locations and stealing more than $40,000 worth of merchandise.

“This was outstanding police work and communication between Target, Dispatch, Officers, and outside agencies,” the Lathrop Police Department said in a release announcing the bust. “Our officers are determined to go the extra mile to bring these cases to a conclusion.”

While organized retail theft crimes have continued to be a problem in Northern California, police agencies have begun communicating with one another about groups that are operating in their area in the hopes that they’ll be able to thwart future crimes.

The City of Manteca took a unique approach to working towards resolving the issue by placing a detective on the matter full-time – allowing them to build relationships with loss prevention associates from retailers and facilitating communication with other agencies to stay up to date on trends.

Groups that are busted are almost always linked to other similar crimes in other jurisdictions, and Lathrop’s ability to work with law enforcement from a neighboring county to paint a clearer picture to the extent of the group’s activities is a testament to the strives that law enforcement have made in tackling organized retail theft as a whole.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.