After responding to a shoplifting attempt at Ulta Beauty in Hollister, police arrested two suspects who are likely connected to an organized retail theft operation that targeted retail stores in both Hollister and Gilroy, authorities said.
On June 21, four Hollister Police officers responded to a report of suspicious activity at Ulta Beauty, on the 1200 block of East Park Street. Store employees told police that two people were inside the store who had been suspected of stealing earlier that day from the Ulta Beauty store in Gilroy.
According to a press release from the Hollister Police Department, the officers coordinated a response while monitoring the suspects. An officer learned that one suspect had left the store without paying for multiple bottles of fragrance and entered a white Toyota Prius.
The officer located the vehicle as it was leaving the shopping center and conducted a traffic stop on Highway 25 near Tres Pinos Road, authorities said. Police identified the driver as 28-year-old Juan Sichaca Galindo and determined he was the suspect seen leaving the store with stolen merchandise.
Investigators searched Sichaca’s vehicle and recovered more than a dozen fragrance bottles, as well as new clothing bearing Old Navy tags with anti-theft security devices still attached, police said.
Police said their investigation determined Galindo had stolen more than $1,400 worth of merchandise from the Hollister Ulta Beauty store.
Meanwhile, another Hollister Police officer remained at the Hollister store and detained a second suspect, 27-year-old Jhonathan Pardo Tovar, says the press release. Police alleged that Pardo Tovar tried to discard new fragrance bottles from a bag after he realized police had arrived.
Police said the evidence suggested an organized retail theft operation. The department credited store employees and responding officers with helping identify the suspects, recovering stolen property and gathering evidence supporting the case.
The Hollister Police Department said it notified the Gilroy Police Department about the earlier theft at Ulta Beauty in Gilroy and requested assistance investigating the recovered Old Navy merchandise and any other related thefts.
Authorities booked Galindo and Pardo Tovar at San Benito County Jail on suspicion of felony grand theft, organized retail theft and conspiracy.
“The Hollister Police Department remains committed to working with local businesses and regional law enforcement partners to identify, investigate and prosecute individuals involved in organized retail theft,” Hollister PD said in the press release. “These crimes not only impact businesses financially but also affect employees, customers, and the community as a whole.”
