Community
Additional Arrest Made by Organized Retail Theft Task Force
| Nature of Incident: | Additional Arrest Made by Organized Retail Theft Task Force | ||||||
| Report Number: | 24-40864 | ||||||
| Location: | 7900 block Avalon Blvd, Los Angeles | ||||||
| Date & Time: | 05/29/24 @ 01:30PM | ||||||
| Unit(s) Responsible: | Ventura County Organized Retail Theft Task Force | ||||||
| (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent |
City of Residence |
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| (S) Menchu, Kelven Caleft | Los Angeles |
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| Narrative: | |||||||
| In a follow up to a previous investigation, the Ventura County Organized Retail Theft Task Force recently arrested Kelven Menchu, a resident of Los Angeles, who is suspected of acting as a member of an organized retail theft crew that focused specifically on Target stores in Ventura County. On April 29th, VCORTTF detectives located Rene Lobos in the city of Ventura and took him into custody on a felony charge of organized retail theft. Lobos is currently still in custody. Detectives then worked to locate and arrest Menchu, who was identified as co-conspirator with Lobos in this investigation. On May 29th., VCORTTF detectives located Menchu near his home in Los Angeles and arrested him without incident. Menchu was transported to the East Valley Jail in Thousand Oaks where he was booked for a felony charge of 490.4 PC – Organized Retail Theft. Menchu remains in custody on $200,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on 05-31-24. The Ventura County Organized Retail Theft Task Force was formed after the Sheriff’s Office was awarded grant funding under the California Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program. This program formalizes a coordinated effort, overseen by the Sheriff’s Office, involving all law enforcement agencies in Ventura County to prevent and combat the estimated $10 million yearly loss from organized retail theft, vehicle/vehicle parts theft and cargo theft. The task force is comprised of detectives from various agencies within Ventura County with the primary mission of combatting organized retail theft, vehicle/vehicle parts theft and cargo theft which impact our businesses, citizens, and communities here in Ventura County. The task force aims to provide a safe environment for everyone while working hand in hand with retailers, law enforcement agencies and the public to identify, locate and arrest the criminals involved in these types of crimes. Persons with information regarding organized retail theft, vehicle/vehicle parts theft or cargo theft are encouraged to call the Ventura County Organized Retail Theft Task Force’s recorded line at (805) 383-8703 or by calling the Crime Stoppers Tip Line (800) 222-TIPS (8477). You can remain anonymous when calling either number. |
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| Prepared by: | Sergeant Baltazar Tapia | ||||||
| News Release Date: | 05/31/2024 | ||||||
| Media Follow-Up Contact: | Sergeant Baltazar Tapia [email protected] |
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| Approved by: Booking Photo Release: |
Captain Ron Chips 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