Community
News Story - Organized Retail Theft Suspects Arrested
| Nature of Incident: | South American Theft Group Organized Retail Theft Suspects Arrested | ||||
| Report Number: | 22-49543 | ||||
| Location: | The Oaks Mall, 350 W Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks |
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| Date & Time: | 04/15/2022 @ 7:00 p.m. | ||||
| Unit(s) Responsible: | Thousand Oaks Patrol, 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) Hugo Camilo Perez Martinez (S) Esperanza Rafaela Brevis Venegas (S) Juvenile |
Transient Transient Transient |
26 25 16 |
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| Narrative: | |||||
| On April 15, 2022, three suspects were arrested for conspiracy to commit organized retail theft at a department store in The Oaks Mall. The suspects were determined to be part of a South American Theft Group. On April 15, 2022, deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office responded to a vehicle burglary call in the north parking lot of The Oaks Mall. The witness reported seeing a male subject breaking the windows to a parked vehicle. When mall security and deputies responded to the area, three suspects fled on foot. Deputies located and detained one of the suspects, a male juvenile, in the 300 block of West Hillcrest Drive. The second suspect was seen driving a vehicle at a high rate of speed and a pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended when the vehicle collided into a residential security fence in the 1200 block of Camino Do Rios and the driver, identified as Hugo Camilo Perez Martinez, was arrested. At approximately the same time, deputies located the third suspect, identified as Esperanza Rafaela Brevis Venegas, walking west in the 1000 block of Hillcrest Drive. The follow up investigation conducted by Thousand Oaks Patrol Units, Thousand Oaks Special Enforcement Unit (SEU) investigators and East County Investigations detectives revealed Perez Martinez, Brevis Venegas, and the juvenile conspired together to enter Macy’s for the purpose of committing a theft. After completing the theft, they returned to their vehicle only to discover they had locked their keys inside. In an attempt to access the vehicle, Perez Martinez used a tool to break the car window. After the arrest, investigators located a large amount of stolen clothing in the back of the vehicle driven by Perez Martinez. These items were found to have been stolen from a variety of retail stores throughout Southern California. Investigators will be working with local law enforcement agencies to attempt to identify where the specific items were stolen from. Hugo Camilo Perez Martinez, Esperanza Rafaela Brevis Venegas, and the juvenile have all been identified as Chilean Nationals and part of the South American Theft Group. Perez Martinez was arrested for organized retail theft, possession of stolen property, evading an officer with willful disregard, hit and run, and resisting, obstructing, delaying a peace officer. Brevis Venegas was arrested for conspiracy to commit a crime, organized retail theft, and possession of stolen property. Perez Martinez and Brevis Venegas were booked into the Pre-Trial Detention Facility for the violations and their bail was set at $250,000 for Perez Martinez and $50,000 for Brevis Venegas. The juvenile was arrested for organized retail theft, possession of stolen property, and possession of fraudulent government documents. The juvenile was lodged at the Ventura County Juvenile Facilities. |
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| Prepared by: | Senior Deputy LaSecla | ||||
| News Release Date: | April 19th, 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