Father and daughter arrested in SoCal retail theft ring, CHP says

A search warrant served at an Inglewood home uncovered not only hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise but also a father-daughter duo believed to be behind some of the crimes, authorities said.

Last month, the California Highway Patrol’s Organized Retail Crime Taskforce served a search warrant on an Inglewood home where investigators suspected stolen goods were stored before being sold at Roadium Open Air Market in Torrance. When investigators searched the premises, they found merchandise such as designer shoes, purses and perfumes sold under authentic brand names.

The home’s 41-year-old owner, Jose Cuadra, was arrested as the suspected lead of the operation. According to law enforcement, retail thieves also known as “boosters” were seen entering his home to resell items they had stolen.

Cuadra was booked on suspicion of two counts of receiving stolen property, one count of selling counterfeit goods and one count of organizing retail theft with two or more people.

The investigators also arrested Johny Arciniegas-Cortes, 46, and his daughter, Paula Arciniegas, 28, last week. The duo is accused of stealing $10,000 in retail items in several robberies across Southern California. The two were booked on suspicion of two counts of grand theft, one count of planning to commit a crime and four misdemeanor counts of shoplifting items under $950, according to the California Highway Patrol.

According to CHP public information officer Jim Bettencourt, the alleged retail theft ring is still under investigation and there may be more arrests.

This wasn’t the first time law enforcement officials have accused a family of being at the center of a theft ring.

In May, Riverside County officials said they had uncovered a different family retail theft operation and arrested four members on suspicion of stealing $7,000 of items from stores across Southern California.

The Organized Retail Crime Taskforce, created in 2019, is part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to crack down on retail crime this year. Just last week, Newsom approved 10 laws that target property theft — allowing indefinite prosecution of retail theft and increasing penalties on shoplifting and the possession and sale of stolen goods.

From January through July of this year, the aggressive push to curb retail theft resulted in 884 arrests and more than $7.2 million in recovered stolen goods in what Newsom’s office has called a “record pace” of enforcement.

The California Budget & Policy Center’s aggregated data show that property crime inched higher between 2020 and 2022, but rates of theft have decreased since then; the current crime rates are still well below the historical peaks in the ’80s and ’90s.