Eight people involved in a series of high-profile robberies in Southern California have been sentenced to state prison, the result of a multi-agency effort designed to address a rash of retail thefts in the region.
Among those convicted were people involved in the flash-mob robbery of Nordstrom at the Westfield Topanga mall last year, where a mob of about 50 people ransacked shelves and display cases and ran out of the store with tens of thousands of dollars in loot.
Videos of the brazen daytime robbery went viral, sparking outrage as people were seen running, using bear spray and unmarked sedans to get away.
“It was disturbing, shocking and unacceptable,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said during a news conference Tuesday. “If they put our communities at risk, they will be held accountable.”
The eight people were involved in multiple robberies between May and August 2023 that targeted luxury stores including Nordstrom, Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Gucci and Magnolia Park, Bonta said. In total, more than $1.7 million was lost during the robberies.
Not all defendants were involved in all the robberies, Bonta said, which occurred in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. But the defendants appear to have communicated through social media, issuing calls to form a “team” to target specific stores on specific days and times.
The coordinated robberies did not appear to have a central organizer or a means of obtaining cash for the stolen goods, Bonta said. Instead, the defendants appeared to communicate via social media to coordinate when to target certain stores to avoid police, much like flash mobs.
The teams, Bonta said, appeared to be casting a wide geographic net on which stores to target, hoping that different jurisdictions would not coordinate investigations and link the incidents.
But Bonta said the conviction and sentencing of the eight individuals showed that police departments across the area were also sharing information to make arrests.
“We are coordinating effectively, working together and more arrests will be made,” Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said during the news conference. He noted that some of the incidents involved violence.
The 25-count indictment that led to the sentencing included coordination between the attorney general's office, Los Angeles police, Glendale police, Burbank police, Beverly Hills police, Newport Beach police and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, he said.
Those who were sentenced:
- Jordan Harris pleaded guilty to one count of vehicle theft and two counts of grand larceny related to incidents at YSL in Glendale and Nordstrom at Topanga Canyon Mall. He was sentenced to 10 years and four months in state prison.
- Kip Henry pleaded guilty to one count of shoplifting at the Nordstrom mall in Topanga Canyon and one count of grand theft at a Louis Vuitton store in Newport Beach. He was sentenced to seven years and four months in state prison.
- Devon Perry pleaded guilty to two counts of grand larceny, including an incident at a Burberry outlet in Riverside and at Nordstrom at the Topanga Canyon Mall. He was sentenced to five years and four months in state prison.
- Ziona Famoso pleaded guilty to one count of shoplifting at the Nordstrom store in the Topanga Canyon Mall and two counts of grand larceny at YSL in Glendale and Louis Vuitton in Newport Beach. She was sentenced to four years and four months in state prison.
- Alana Hart pleaded guilty to assault and grand larceny at the Burberry Outlet in Riverside. She was sentenced to four years in prison.
- Travelle Hamblet pleaded guilty to one count of shoplifting at Nordstrom at the Topanga Mall and was sentenced to four years in state prison.
- Jason Smith pleaded guilty to robbery at YSL in Glendale and was sentenced to three years.
- Briana Jimenez pleaded guilty to shoplifting at YSL in Glendale and was sentenced to one year in prison.
- Ivan Ramirez also pleaded guilty to robbery and theft, but will be sentenced in 2025.
Although some of the defendants appeared to be coordinating which stores to target, there did not appear to be an organized effort in how the culprits would use the stolen goods, Bonta said.
There was no single “fence,” he said, and many of the people involved appeared to be trying to sell the stolen merchandise on social media and in chat rooms.
The spate of retail thefts has become a hallmark of the crime problem in some cities.
Videos of perpetrators smashing display cases or running out of stores with arms full of merchandise have spread rapidly on social media, in local news and in political advertisements.
The move is the latest effort to stem a rise in retail theft crimes.
Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom Announced A retail public safety plan aimed at combating retail theft. In April, Newsom’s office announced that the state’s Retail Organized Crime Task Force arrested 474 people and recovered nearly $4.2 million in merchandise as part of 185 investigations in 2024.
The wave of flash mob-style robberies in Los Angeles in 2023 prompted Mayor Karen Bass to announce Another task force of local and federal agencies will be tasked with combating theft and working with retailers to improve security and deterrence measures.
On Tuesday, Bonta said that after a series of high-profile incidents and online videos in 2023, the number of incidents appeared to be declining, which he attributed to the quick response of local police departments in making arrests.
“The best way to prevent crimes from being committed is to make sure that those who commit them know they will be caught,” he said.
