Community
Thousand Oaks South American Theft Group Arrest
| Nature of Incident: | South American Theft Group Pick Pocket and Identity Theft Suspects Arrested | ||||
| Report Number: | 22-69369 | ||||
| Location: | Target, 2705 Teller Drive, Thousand Oaks |
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| Date & Time: | 05/26/2022 @ 1:45 p.m. | ||||
| Unit(s) Responsible: | Thousand Oaks Special Enforcement Unit, East County Investigations |
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| (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent |
City of Residence |
Age | |||
| (S) Lorena Andreasoto Espinoza (S) Esmeralda Margita Lozano (S) Javier Andres Zenteno Valdebenito |
Transient Pacoima Transient |
46 29 31 |
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| Narrative: | |||||
| On May 26th, 2022, three suspects were arrested for conspiracy to commit identity theft at a Target in the city of Thousand Oaks. The suspects were determined to be part of the South American Theft Group (SATG). On May 26th, 2022, investigators with the Thousand Oaks Special Enforcement Unit responded to Target in the Newbury Park community of Thousand Oaks, following up on a South American Theft Group crime that had occurred earlier in the day. When investigators contacted Target Loss Prevention about the crime, a customer approached them and reported her wallet had just been stolen from her purse. Investigators were able to quickly review video surveillance at the location and identify three subjects associated to the crime. These three suspects were also found to be associated to a sedan that had been parked in the parking lot. This information was passed on to other members of the Special Enforcement Unit who located the vehicle at the Target store on Russel Ranch Road in Westlake Village. A short time later, the victim started receiving electronic notifications of her credit cards being fraudulently used. A few minutes later, investigators observed the same three subjects seen on video at the Newbury Park Target, exit the Westlake Village location and return to their vehicle. Investigators took the three suspects into custody prior to them leaving the location. The victim’s wallet and credit cards were located in a trash container next to where suspects were arrested. The arrested suspects were identified as Lorena Andreasoto Espinoza, Esmeralda Margita Lozano, and Javier Andres Zenteno Valdebenito. Espinoza and Valdebenito were identified as Chilean Nationals and this crew was identified as part of the South American Theft Group. Lozano and Valdebenito were arrested for conspiracy, petty theft, identity theft, and possession of a fraudulent seal. Espinoza was arrested for conspiracy, petty theft, and identity theft. All three suspects have been booked into the Pre-Trial Detention Facility for the listed violations and their bail was set at $250,000. |
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| Prepared by: | Senior Deputy LaSecla | ||||
| News Release Date: | May 31, 2022 | ||||
| Media Follow-Up Contact: | Detective Justin Doering [email protected] (805) 371-8336 |
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| Approved by: Booking Photo Release: |
Captain Steven Jenkins YES NO |
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Address/Location
Ventura County Sheriff's Office
800 S Victoria Ave
Ventura, CA 93003
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 805-654-9511