A Florida lady was recently arrested for being a member of a lucrative retail theft ring that targeted a number of businesses in the Sunshine State, including Ulta, CVS, Walgreens, and liquor stores, according to officials.
Lourdes Rodriguez, 20, is charged with two counts of organized retail theft and grand theft, according to a press release from the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
The defendant was detained this week and is alleged to be the third participant of a theft operation that resulted in losses of more than $100,000 for over four dozen Florida firms.
Authorities allege that the defendant committed over a dozen thefts in Brevard, Martin, Palm Beach, Sarasota, and Seminole counties. Her suspected thefts totaled approximately $15,000.
“She would hide them on her person, or in her bag, and flee the store,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told West Palm Beach-based CBS station WPEC.
The investigation into Lourdes began in Martin County, according to police, but it eventually led law enforcement to what is said to be a considerably larger pool of ill-gotten retail items.
“Once that arrest was made, authorities collectively realized she was hitting store after store,” according to the sheriff. “Now Ms. Rodriguez is facing enhanced penalties for serial shoplifting.”
The defendant is alleged to be the third individual apprehended in the theft ring.
“Rodriguez would enter the stores, conceal merchandise in either a bag the defendant brought in with her or one stolen from the business, and walk out with the stolen items,” according to a news statement.
According to a field case report acquired by WPEC, the defendant allegedly focused most of her stealing on skin care, dental hygiene, and cosmetic goods.
She allegedly stole from various Walgreens, often the same one, with a two-day delay between occurrences, according to officials.
Lourdes also faces a number of failure to appear charges, according to Palm Beach County Jail records.
She was first arrested in October.
The public court docket in Martin County indicates a person named “Lourdes Rodriguez,” who is accused with many misdemeanor petit theft counts.
The state’s charges, which were announced last week, include felony claims. If punished as charged, the felony convictions in this case could result in up to five years in jail.
“Working with our law enforcement partners and our Florida Organized Retail Crime Exchange Task Force, we dismantled a massive organized retail theft ring with a third arrest this week,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement. “Criminal organizations be warned – in Florida, we have the tools and talent to investigate and take down your criminal enterprise, and you will pay for your crimes.”
