Increased Downtown Patrols Net Another Suspect in Organized Store Robberies
WALNUT CREEK — Increased patrols are being conducted downtown in response to organized store robberies—and another suspect was arrested during one such patrol. The woman arrested has prior arrests for battery, grand theft, and possession of burglary tools.
Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Lafayette police officers are assisting Walnut Creek police patrol downtown Walnut Creek. It is one of many communities experiencing groups of thieves entering and robbing stores.
During one recent patrol, a WCPD officer noticed a suspicious vehicle in a parking lot at Broadway Plaza shopping mall. The vehicle aroused suspicion because its license plates were missing, as has been the case in other retail thefts.
In a prepared statement the Walnut Creek Police Department said. “We are doing our best to combat the influx of organized retail crime.” Additional units responded to investigate what was perceived as “an indicator of someone attempting to get away with criminal behavior.”
The woman associated with the suspicious vehicle was detained and arrested on December 5. Officers also recovered stolen merchandise with an estimated retail value of $2,000.
The suspect arrested is 24-year-old Eriona T. McGlothan, a resident of Oakland. She was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of participating in organized retail thefts.
Authorities continue working to identify and arrest more suspects involved in recent robberies. As many as 80 thieves stole merchandise from stores in a recent incident of mob looting in downtown Walnut Creek.
