Members of a family-run retail theft group dubbed the “Dodger Crew” by police were taken into custody this week on suspicion of stealing, then reselling, high-end perfumes from Los Angeles-area stores.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Organized Retail Theft Task Force served a search warrant Thursday morning at the family’s home, which KTLA reported was in South L.A.
Police arrested Fermin Mendoza, 50. His son Fermin, 23, and daughter Natalie, 20, and their mother, Gabriella Lopez, 48, were also arrested.
Police are looking for the father’s girlfriend, whom they did not name.
The family got the name “Dodger Crew” because some wore Los Angeles Dodgers garments during alleged thefts, according to LAPD Lt. Mike McComas. The family has no affiliation with the Major League Baseball team.
Members of the crew are suspected of stealing high-end perfumes and reselling them.
(KTLA)
“You don’t normally have the parents and kids [committing crimes] together,” McComas said.
The task force had been investigating the family since February, he said. Officers discovered alleged crimes dating to December.
Officials did not disclose the value of perfumes the crew allegedly stole during the last seven months. KTLA 5 reported that members stole from major retailers like Macy’s and Nordstrom in Los Angeles, Glendale and Torrance.
The task force is investigating how the stolen merchandise was resold and is searching for “fences,” the people who buy stolen products from thieves, McComas said.
“If anybody out there is buying these products from the people that are stealing, they need to be put on notice that we will find you and shut you down,” he said.