COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Surveillance video captured thieves pocketing merchandise inside a Home Depot in California – part of a group investigators say is linked to more than $10 million in stolen merchandise.
That includes arrests made right here metro Atlanta, Channel 2’s Michael Seiden reports.
Investigators say this operation stretched across the country with millions in stolen goods.
The man caught on surveillance stuffed his jacket with electrical breakers, each one worth about $100. During the same visit, he used a long pole to pull down boxes of electrical equipment from high shelves.
When those items are locked up, authorities say he just climbs the racks to get to them.
Investigators say this wasn’t just one brazen theft. They believe this was part of the largest organized retail theft operation targeting Home Depot in the company’s history.
Right now, four suspects are all behind bars in Cobb County after police say they hit more than two dozen stores.
The arrests began last spring when authorities in California busted the alleged head of the operation, a store owner.
Sheriff Jim Fryhoff, Ventura County, Calif., said his crews of thieves, known as boosters, would steal merchandise from Home Depot stores.
“He would then sell those items at a reduced price to contractors and other electrical businesses,” the sheriff said.
Criminologists who study organize retail theft rings say it’s not uncommon for these types of theft rings to expand into new areas.
“You’re going to exhaust some of the ones around you. You may not want to steal from the stores that are closest to you because people might recognize you,” said Dr. Read Hayes, University of Florida criminologist.
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