A man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of taking part in a robbery at an East Los Angeles Nike store and several “grab and go” retail thefts, authorities said.
More than $150,000 worth of merchandise was taken from the Nike store, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department news release.
The suspect, Julian Gutierrez, has been tied to the Nike robbery as well as other retail thefts that happened from February through April of this year.
Detectives believe the man committed the crimes as part of a larger “crew” of thieves and uses juveniles to help with the thefts, the Sheriff’s Department said.
At least one boy is now in custody in connection with the Nike store thefts and is suspected in others, officials said.
When detectives arrested Gutierrez in Inglewood, they found several thousand dollars’ worth of new clothing in his vehicle with the tags and security devices still attached, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
“Suspect Gutierrez admitted to several recent ‘Grab and Go’ thefts in the Southern California region, including thefts from Ross Dress for Less Stores in Huntington Park and Downtown Los Angeles,” officials said.
Detectives are still working to determine exactly how many thefts the crew may be responsible for.
At the time of his arrest, Gutierrez was out of custody on court-ordered ankle monitoring because of a 2021 robbery arrest.
On Wednesday, Gutierrez was booked on suspicion of robbery and grand theft and was being held on $55,000 bail.