Photo: Stock Image
While not all shoplifters may share their preference for “the good stuff” when it comes to purloined libations, a pair of thieves hailing from Los Angeles who targeted a Thousand Oaks Ralphs supermarket on June 24th managed to attract the attention of the Ventura County Organized Retail Theft Task Force with their focus on high-end alcohol beverages as the objects of their desire.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Baltazar Tapia, 37- year-old John Daniel Johnson, 37, and 34-year-old Dhati Mack Conley had spent the morning stealing liquor from the market and then traveled to the nearby Thousand Oaks Target Store to repeat their crime. But when the Target Store’s loss prevention personnel observed “two suspects who were seen concealing multiple bottles of alcohol on their person,” it didn’t take long for uniformed deputies to arrive on the scene.
As Johnson and Conley were attempting to drive out of the Target parking lot, deputies intercepted the pair as they attempted to leave the parking lot. At that point, , deputies recovered the stolen merchandise from Target. A subsequent search of their vehicle revealed several thousand dollars' worth of high-end alcohol, some bearing Ralphs stickers. The estimated value of the recovered liquor was around $5,000 from both Target and Ralphs stores.
Johnson and Conley were transported to Ventura County Jail, where they were booked on felony charges related to organized retail theft. “Due to their extensive criminal histories,” detectives from the Ventura County Organized Retail Theft Task Force sought and received a bail increase, setting each suspect's bail at $200,000.
