Photo: Isaac Hernandez
November 6, 2020 – Ventura County, Ca.
The use of a baby stroller as cover for the theft of what Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sr. Deputy Kris Doepking described to the media as “large quantities of baby formula” failed to fool the security staff at the retail store hit by male and female suspects on the afternoon of November 3rd .
Thalia Ruiz Desoto
It was just after 3:00 p.m. when Northridge, Ca. residents Thalia Ruiz-Desoto, 22, and Isaac Hernandez, 20 were nabbed inside a Camarillo department store as they attempted to leave the premises with a baby stroller stuffed with purloined baby formula. Having departed the store without paying for the merchandise, Ruiz-Desoto and Hernandez approached a waiting vehicle as the retailer’s security personnel notified Camarillo Patrol of the theft in progress.
As the suspects were driving out of the retailer’s parking lot, the VCSD Directed Enforcement Unit showed up in force and brought their vehicle to an abrupt halt. A search of the suspect vehicle quickly followed, leading to the discovery of “an empty baby stroller with no actual child involved,” and evidence of multiple thefts from Newbury Park and Westlake Village stores as well as the Camarillo location.
Detectives then accessed video surveillance from all three retail establishments, leading them to connect Hernandez and Ruiz-Desoto to thefts at each business. The value of the stolen baby formula was determined to be “approximately $1700.”
Both Hernandez and Ruiz-Desoto were transported to Ventura County Jail, where they were each booked on charges of Organized Retail Theft, Grand Theft, and Conspiracy to Commit a Crime, with their individual bail amounts set at $20,000.
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
