News Releases
August 25, 2023: D.A. Gascón Announces Charges Against Six People in Organized Retail Theft at WSS Store in Highland Park
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Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced today that six people have been charged in connection with two different incidents of organized retail theft at a Warehouse Shoe Store (WSS) in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
“We will not tolerate the brazen actions of those behind organized retail theft. These crimes harm our community’s sense of security and the vitality of our local businesses,” District Attorney Gascón said. “To those contemplating or engaging in these crimes, let me be clear: we are leveraging advanced investigative partnerships to track down and apprehend those responsible. The Organized Retail Crime Taskforce and my office’s Organized Crime Division will continue to bring those committing these crimes to justice.”
Abraham Olivares (dob 08/14/98), Raul Palazuelos aka Raul Perez (dob 07/30/05), and Joe Hernandez (dob 08/06/99) are each charged in case BA517403 with one felony count of grand theft by LADA’s Organized Crime Division (OCD).
All three defendants pled not guilty at an arraignment yesterday in Dept. 30 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center. A preliminary hearing is scheduled September 7 in Dept. 33.
Henry Thomas (dob 10/18/02), Michonna Metcalf (dob 12/30/92), and Trista Manuel (dob 02/21/03) have each been charged in case BA517427 with one felony count of conspiracy to commit a crime, and one felony count of grand theft. Thomas also is charged with one felony count of second-degree robbery by OCD.
All three defendants pled not guilty at an arraignment today in Dept. 30 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center. A preliminary hearing is scheduled September 8 in Dept. 37.
On Aug. 22, around 4 p.m., Olivares and Palazuelos allegedly entered the WSS store at 6251 York Blvd., in Los Angeles and took a large amount of merchandise without paying for any of it.
On Aug. 23, shortly before 1 p.m., Thomas, Metcalf and Manuel allegedly entered WSS where they started taking merchandise and placing it into bags. The three individuals then allegedly left the store in a vehicle with the stolen merchandise where they drove to the area of 8th and Alvarado streets in downtown Los Angeles.
Thomas, Metcalf and Manuel were apprehended in downtown Los Angeles by police approximately 30 minutes after the theft took place.
Anyone with information about these types of incidents or the identity of additional suspects is asked to call the Organized Retail Crime Task Force at (818) 374-9420. During non-business hours or on the weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
The case is being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Organized Retail Crime Taskforce, which includes deputy district attorneys from LADA’s Organized Crime Division and investigators from the office’s Bureau of Investigation.
