social media post<\/a> on Wednesday, saying officers were recently called to a Murrieta Home Depot in Riverside County for what seemed like a standard shoplifting incident.<\/p>\nExcept, it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
According to the MPD, when patrol officers arrived at the home improvement store, they spoke with a man who had just bought a leaf blower, walked it out to his car, removed the battery, and \u201cthen returned it like nothing happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut here\u2019s the twist, this wasn\u2019t a one-time thing,\u201d the MPD\u2019s post explained. \u201cThis was part of a nationwide organized retail scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n
Investigators said the suspect had been traveling across the U.S., shopping at various Home Depot and Lowe\u2019s stores, using the same strategy every time he bought battery-powered tools like leaf blowers or drills: \u201cBuy it, remove the battery, return it, repeat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat started as a shoplifting call quickly turned into something a lot bigger,\u201d the MPD\u2019s post read.<\/p>\n
Just in the Murrieta incident alone, police found $477 worth of stolen batteries inside the suspect\u2019s car.<\/p>\n
The suspect told officers he had only stolen \u201cabout five\u201d batteries, but the MPD said the estimated loss linked to the suspect\u2019s nationwide scheme is around $350,000 worth of batteries.<\/p>\n
Officers arrested the suspect for theft, including felony charges for organized retail theft, the MPD said.<\/p>\n
The police department\u2019s social media post included audio from the dispatcher’s call to officers, saying how the man had been repeatedly pulling the battery scheme. The post also included in-store surveillance video of the suspect buying the leaf blower, followed by police body cam video of the man\u2019s arrest and images of the stolen batteries found in the man\u2019s car.<\/p>\n
\u201cOrganized retail crime isn\u2019t just shoplifting, it\u2019s coordinated operations that cost businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars and ultimately impact everyone,\u201d the department\u2019s post read.<\/p>\n
The suspect’s name was not released.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t