A Sacramento, Calif. man has been taken into custody for the theft of an estimated $35,000 in women’s sportswear and apparel from local Macy’s department stores.
The Citrus Heights Police Department (CHPD) arrested 29-year-old Tyrell Jermaine English on Friday following a multi-week investigation into a rash of incidents at the Macy’s at Citrus Heights Sunrise Mall and two other Macy’s stores in nearby Sacramento.
English, who was booked on charges of retail theft and robbery, was arrested after detectives executed search warrants at his residence, leading to the discovery of more than $10,000 in stolen apparel that was confirmed stolen by the stores. He has been booked at the Sacramento County main jail and is awaiting trial.
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According to Lieutenant Wesley Herman, an investigator with CHPD’s Special Services Division, additional victims in the crime spree may be forthcoming, and English is believed to have been accompanied by at least two other suspects who are not yet in custody. “Stolen products are often resold on various online platforms where it’s both easy and often anonymous to do so,” he added. “Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and others are frequently used to illegally sell these stolen items for less than retail value.”
The city has experienced a rise in retail theft in recent years, Herman told Sourcing Journal. “In response, CHPD is committed to dedicating significant resources to address this impact on our community and local businesses, with a focus on promoting accountability,” he said.
The police department is now working in concert with other regional law enforcement agencies, loss prevention teams at stores and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office to bolster its efforts at crime prevention and detection as well as arrest and prosecution.
“Organized retail theft (ORT) is a priority for CHPD, and we have a dedicated detective assigned to these complex investigations,” Herman added, noting that “Such cases often extend over several weeks or months before arrests can be made.”
The department was the beneficiary of a $2.75-million grant from California’s Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program in 2023. Governor Gavin Newsom approved the distribution of a record $267 million in funding for local law enforcement agencies and prosecutorial bodies across the state late last year following a summer of rampant retail theft across the state’s most populous cities and counties.
The grant, which is being dispensed throughout a three-year period, is paying for the implementation of a retail theft strategy at CHPD that includes a dedicated detective, a Real-Time Information Center (RTIC) Operator, a number of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras, several mobile camera trailers, “and other software and technology tools to assist with us regional intelligence sharing and communication related to theft detection and solvability,” Herman said. “Year to date, we’ve made over 70 arrests related to organized retail theft and motor vehicle theft in Citrus Heights.”
CHPD’s progress mirrors statewide trends; in late October, Newsom’s office said that the Organized Retail Theft (ORT) Prevention Grant, which received $242 million of the total statewide investment (with the remaining funds going toward the Organized Retail Theft Vertical Prosecution Grant), led to double-digit increases in arrests across 31 police departments and sheriffs’ offices.
Law enforcement upped arrests by 46 percent in the most recent quarter, bringing year-to-date arrests to 10,138, including nearly 8,000 for organized retail theft. According to the lawmaker’s office, 8,736 cases have been referred for prosecution.
In addition, agencies have used the funding to staff up, implement new tools for data collection and review their surveillance practices for racial bias. The Prosecution Grant, which dispensed $24.8 million to 13 district attorneys’ offices in California, has led to charges against 1,643 organized retail crime suspects and 467 convictions.
Californians are co-signing the state’s initiatives to crack down on organized retail theft and shoplifting—and they’re pushing beyond what Gov. Newsom and the State Legislature had opted to do themselves.
Earlier this month, 70 percent of Golden State voters pushed through Prop. 36, a tough-on-crime ballot measure that will mandate harsher penalties for perpetrators of retail theft. The now-ratified law will walk back certain provisions of Prop. 47, which set the felony threshold for shoplifting at $950. Now, offenders who steal goods valued at $950 or less can be charged with a felony if they’ve already been convicted twice before.
“While the Citrus Heights Police Department remains impartial regarding endorsements of ballot measures, we recognize that our City Council has expressed support for Proposition 36 to aid local retailers,” Herman said this week. “It is believed that this proposition could enhance efforts to restore accountability, particularly in cases of organized retail theft, where individuals may exploit dollar thresholds or seek out jurisdictions perceived to have higher filing thresholds for prosecution.”
