3 days ago
42 arrested in Inland Empire smash-and-grab crackdown
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced several dozen arrests in its continuing crackdown on retail theft crews.
Between May 17 and 30, SBSD personnel and representatives from local, state and federal agencies arrested 42 people across the county, the SBSD said in a news release.
Of those 42 arrests, 10 were for felony charges and 32 were for misdemeanors.
Additionally, more than $8,100 in property was recovered, authorities said.
The arrests are part of Operation Smash & Grab, which targets retail theft, especially in 'the Rancho Cucamonga, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Victorville, and Chino Hills shopping districts,' the release said.
These robberies, burglaries, vandalism and other crimes are done by crews of organized thieves who 'terrorize the citizens of San Bernardino County by utilizing intimidation tactics and a mob mentality that creates an unsafe and uncomfortable shopping environment for our residents,' according to the Sheriff's Department.
Officials added that Proposition 36, which enacted harsher penalties for shoplifters, applied to five of the arrests.
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