Ekatarina Zharkova.Photo: Orange County Sheriff’s Department
A California woman has been arrested and charged with grand theft after allegedly stealing more than $320,000 in merchandise from local retail stores.
Ekaterina Zharkova reportedly went into several TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack stores in Costa Mesa between Oct. 7 and Nov. 23, filled empty shopping bags with thousands of dollars in merchandise and left without paying, the Orange County District Attorney’s office said in arelease.
Local authorities said the 38-year-old woman was attempting to resell the stolen items through a luxury item online consignment store.
Investigators later found more than $328,000 worth of stolen merchandise in her car and apartment leading to a second arrest on Sunday. She is currently in police custody with bail set at $320,000, according toonline records.
California Highway Patrol
She was then charged with four felony counts of grand theft, one felony count of receiving stolen property, and seven misdemeanor counts of petty theft, facing up to nine years in prison if convicted.
“These are not victimless crimes and if you engage in these kinds of outrageous theft schemes we’re going to arrest you, we’re going to prosecute you, and we’re putting you behind bars,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in arelease.
He continued, “I have assigned some of my most experienced investigators to work with the California Highway Patrol’s organized retail theft task force and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to help protect Orange County businesses from being victimized and protect consumers from increased costs.”
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Earlier this month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke out about the recent increase in mass theft and criticized local officials for being reluctant to prosecute shoplifters, calling it “unacceptable.”
“If people are breaking in, people stealing your property, they need to be arrested. Police need to arrest them. Prosecutors need to prosecute them. Judges need to hold people accountable for breaking the law,” Newsom said,CBS Los Angelesreports.
source: people.com
