Police issue arrest warrants and arrest family-run theft ring “Dodger Crew”

Members of a family-run shoplifting gang dubbed the “Dodger Crew” by police were arrested this week on charges of stealing and reselling high-end perfumes from Los Angeles-area stores.

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Organized Retail Theft Task Force issued a search warrant for the family’s home, which was located in South LA, on Thursday morning, according to KTLA.

Police arrested Fermin Mendoza, 50. His son Fermin, 23, his daughter Natalie, 20, and her mother Gabriella Lopez, 48, were also arrested.

The police are looking for the father’s girlfriend, whose name they have not disclosed.

The family was named the “Dodger Crew” because some of them wore Los Angeles Dodgers clothing during suspected thefts, according to LAPD Lt. Mike McComas. The family has no connection to the Major League Baseball team.

Members of the crew are suspected of stealing high-quality perfumes and reselling them.

(KTLA)

“Parents and children do not usually commit crimes together,” McComas said.

The task force has been investigating the family since February, he said, and officials have uncovered alleged crimes dating back to December.

Officials did not disclose the value of the perfumes the gang is alleged to have stolen over the past seven months. KTLA 5 reported that members stole from major retailers such as Macy’s and Nordstrom in Los Angeles, Glendale and Torrance.

The task force is investigating how the stolen goods were resold and is looking for “fences,” or people who buy stolen goods from thieves, McComas said.

“If there is someone out there buying these products from the thieves, we need to make it clear to them that we will find them and shut them down,” he said.