About 2 p.m. Sunday, a Sacramento Police Officer, in the area of The Promenade shopping center in the 3500 block of North Freeway Blvd., was hailed by a retailer indicating multiple subjects had just walked out with a large number of items, according to police radio reports. The officer kept a visual of the suspects, moving through the parking lot toward Panda Express, as she called for additional support.
As the officer moved closer to keep the subjects in view, they spotted the officer, dumped the items adjacent to their vehicle, and fled, ducking inside the Panera Bread restaurant.
Witnesses who were inside Panera, told PSN that they could tell that the three young ladies were obviously hiding, and they were frantically asking people for cell phone charges. At one point, all three females and the male with them, ducked into the men's restroom. Witnesses stated that the subjects even asked employees if they could use the employee exit to escape.
According to witnesses and police radio reports, the subjects then fled from the restaurant toward the street. The three females were quickly apprehended without incident, as police air support kept surveillance of the male fleeing across the street toward Staybridge Suites. The suspect, apparently attempting to blend in, entered the pool while staying on his cell phone. The airship talked ground officers into the suspect's location where he was taken into custody without incident.
Sacramento Police Department's Major Crimes Unit (MCU) detectives were called to the scene and are actively investigating this case.
Police radio traffic indicated that these suspects are known and have been perpetrating thefts in the area, in the known gray vehicle with the black hood, in recent days. Retailers involved tell PSN they believe these subjects are part of a larger organized ring that has been hitting many locations in the same manner over the past few years. One manager we talked with has worked in other retail outlets where these crimes have occurred. They tell us that this ring is also operating in Stockton and the Bay Area.
The Sacramento Police Department gave PSN the following statement:
Just before 2 p.m. this afternoon, officers responded to the 3500 block of N Freeway Blvd regarding a report of theft from a business. Officers detained four suspects related to the theft and were able to recover merchandise that was stolen during the incident.
The four suspects were arrested for felony shoplifting charges. One suspect was an adult female and the other three suspects were juveniles.
At this time, we can not confirm that any of these suspects were involved in any other local or regional crimes, however detectives from our Neighborhood Crimes Unit responded today to assist with the investigation. Detectives will be conducting follow-up and part of that will be to investigate if those contacted today are related to any other incidents of similar nature.
