DA seeking prison time for Bay Area Home Depot theft ring amid crackdown on retail crime
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- A looming sentence for a group of prolific retail thieves who hit Home Depot stores in every Bay Area county has major implications for retail crime.
While sentencing was delayed Wednesday, the Santa Clara County District Attorney says what happens will send a strong message one way or another.
Retail crime may only seem like the theft of goods, but business owners, big and small, say everyone feels the impacts.
"This isn't just about business losses - it's about protecting people who shop, work and live in our communities," Home Depot Asset Protection Divisional Director Larry Caylor said.
MORE: 4 charged in NorCal theft ring that stole over $92K in Home Depot merchandise
"We have lots of sleepless nights," Jesse Singh Powar with the Small American Business Association of California said. "Our phones are sitting next to our beds and we're just waiting for our phone to ring from the alarm company that the alarm just went on at the store."
Powar has been sleeping better since new legislation cracking down on retail crime passed.
Santa Clara County benefits from more funding for officers and prosecutors focused on retail theft, who can aggregate crimes across county lines and try them in a single jurisdiction.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen aims to make the crime ring targeting Home Depots an example.
"These are not shoplifters," Rosen said. "This is a determined, destructive and dangerous thieving crew of individuals. They struck nearly 200 times in a four-month period, hitting Home Depots in every county in the Bay Area."
Adolfo Duarte Herrera pleaded guilty to the crimes of stealing goods and dropping them off to his drivers, his three co-defendants in this case. They would sell the items at Bay Area flea markets.
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DA Rosen said the Richmond resident even skipped a probation appointment for another shoplifting case, claiming he was sick - only to commit another theft.
Duarte Herrera was supposed to be sentenced Wednesday, but prosecutors disagreed with what the judge was proposing - telling ABC7 it was too lenient.
The sentencing in this case has been continued until a later date.
Previous indications from the judge have been a probation sentence for Duarte Herrera, but DA Rosen says anything short of prison is an injustice.
"All the other DAs in the Bay Area said, 'Okay, Santa Clara County, we'll let you take this case because we trust that you will get justice,'" Rosen said. "And that's what we're trying to get here. Justice for these individuals is prison."
The Probation Department and DA Rosen believe six years is an appropriate sentence for Duarte Herrera, but the judge will make the final call.
