Two brothers from Los Angeles County were arrested last week after perpetuating a series of coordinated thefts from retail outlets in Southern California, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday.
The brothers, 30-year-old Vardan Gevorgyan of North Hollywood and 37-year-old Raphael Gevorgyan of Van Nuys, “were engaged in an ongoing organized retail theft spree throughout Southern California, over the past several months,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Vardan Gevorgyan is accused of stealing an “entire display case” worth about $21,500 out of a jewelry store in the 800 block of Los Angeles Avenue in Moorpark in November, officials said.
“As the investigation unfolded, detectives learned the same suspect was responsible for committing similar thefts at seven different locations of the same department store chain throughout Southern California, with a total loss in excess of $124,000.00,” the release added.
Another such incident was listed as occurring in the 2900 block of Tapo Canyon Road in Simi Valley, the release stated.
Vardan Gevorgyan “conspired with and worked in conjunction with his brother, Raphael Gevorgyan, of Van Nuys in order to commit the thefts,” officials said.
The brothers were arrested in Pacoima, where one of them had been staying, and were booked at the Ventura Main Jail on two felony counts each of grand theft, the Sheriff’s Office added.
Jail records show Vardan Gevorgyan is being held on $70,000 bail, of which only $20,000 is related to the two alleged thefts in Ventura County. In addition, Vardan Gevorgyan faces a felony charge for possessing contraband in jail, for which his bail was set at $30,000, and three felony charges from outside of Ventura County for alleged identity theft and receiving stolen property, for which his bail is set at $20,000.
Vardan Gevorgyan is due to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Thursday afternoon on the contraband charge, and he’s due back on Jan. 21 on retail theft charges.
Raphael Gevorgyan only faces the two felony charges for grand theft, and his bail has been set at $75,000. He is also due to appear in court on Jan. 21.