Fourteen people were arrested for being part of the largest robbery of home depot stores in the country, in which merchandise were stolen worth more than 10 million dollars in 71 stores in southern California.
“This case demonstrates the magnitude, scope and sophistication of the robbery organized in retail stores,” said Ventura County District Prosecutor Erik Nasarenko, in relation to the operation called “Kill Switch.”
“It was not aft in stores, but a criminal organization that allegedly stole millions, and was finally arrested here, in Ventura County,” he added.
For several years, the cunning thieves got hidden between their clothes and jackets, electrical components that sold in establishments that resorted to stolen items.
The investigation that began in January of this year was led by the working group against the organized robbery of retailer retailers.
David Ahl, the alleged leader of the Band of Thieves, resident of Woodland Hills and his group, including his brother -in -law and his ex -wife, are among those arrested and imprisoned.
The Band of the Band has been accused of ordering the theft of high -end electrical products such as electricity regulators, switches and plugs, which later resorted to Arya Wholesale, its business in the city of Tarzana,
AHL faces 45 charges for serious crimes, including conspiracy, theft organized in shops, theft, reception of stolen goods and money laundering.
Currently, it is detained with a bail of $ 500,000,
Nine of the defendants were presented charges for serious crimes and the authorities seized them stolen and valued at $ 3.7 million.
The brother -in -law of AHL, Omid Abrishamkar, resident of Calabasas, of 11 charges for serious crimes, including conspiracy, reception of stolen goods and money laundering is also accused. He is accused of reselling stolen merchandise through eBay.
In addition, the ex -wife of AHL, Lorena Solís and her partner, Enrique Neira Moreno, both residents in the city of Downey, are each of eight serious crimes of conspiracy for her alleged participation in the resale of stolen merchandise in the Los Angeles area. Abrishamkar, Solís and Moreno remain detained with a bail of 500,000 dollars.
“This case demonstrates how profitable and harmful the robbery organized in retail stores,” said Ventura County Sheriff, Jim Fryhoff.
“Demonstrates the importance of collaboration [interjurisdiccional de las autoridades]. This research would not have been possible without the hard work of our detectives of our work team, the support of Home Depot Loss Prevention and state financing. ”
They stole daily several times
The commission of illegal activities was backed by two groups of organized thieves, who committed the robberies daily
The main band was made up of José Bañuelos Guerrero, resident of South Gate; Edwin Rivera, from Los Angeles and Eber Bonilla López de Pomona. They are accused of committing robberies, sometimes several times a day. The stolen merchandise amounted between $ 6,000 and $ 10,000 daily.
The charges against them are: conspiracy, robbery organized to retail stores, reception of stolen goods and theft. A second band of thieves was composed of Erlin López Hernández and Denny Gómez, both Pomona residents.
“They are accused of stealing several times a week in Home Depot stores in the region,” Joey Buttitta, spokesman for the Ventura County District Prosecutor’s Office.
“Three charges for serious conspiracy crimes are charged to commit robbery organized to retail stores,” he added.
Bonilla-López is detained on bail of $ 500,000, while the other four are held on bail of $ 250,000 each ”.
They track more than 600 robberies
Since January 2025, investigators of the working group against the robbery organized in Retailers of the Ventura County have tracked these groups up to more than 600 alleged robberies committed in the Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The Home Depot chain estimates that the criminal organization is responsible for at least $ 10 million in stolen merchandise over several years, before they install security cameras.
The working group has seized at least $ 3.7 million in Home Depot’s stolen goods since the arrests were made on August 14, 2025.
The District Prosecutor’s Office has also seized more than $ 800,000 in allegedly illicit money of David Ahl’s financial accounts and Obid Abrishamkar.
“These criminals have been operating a sophisticated multimillion -dollar company that harms companies, workers and, ultimately, consumers,” said Los Angeles district prosecutor Nathan Hochman.
“The charges transmit a very clear message: if you participate in these networks, we will find them. And it does not matter if you are in the Los Angeles County, the Ventura County or anywhere in California, we will work with our police allies to dismantle the criminal networks.”
The change in law works
The authorities emphasized that this case was resolved, thanks to two state subsidies against the
Theft organized in retail businesses supporting specialized investigators and prosecutors.
The authority of the bill 1779 of the Assembly, drafted by Assemblyman Jacqui Irwin, which allows the crimes that occur in several counties to consolidate in a single criminal complaint, also played an important role.
Law AB 1779 was promulgated last year by Governor Gavin Newsom and entered into force on January 1, 2025.
“Without this law, we would be prosecuting common crimes by the same accused in multiple jurisdictions, a expensive task that consumes a lot of time,” said prosecutor Nasarenko.
Due to this legislation, Ventura County was able to consolidate the robbery charges in the Home Depot of Los Angeles in a criminal complaint of 48 charges.
For his part, assemblyman Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) said that, for several years, they have heard the complaints of retailers and consumers frustrated by the impact of the robberies organized in retail stores.
He pointed out that highly organized criminal gangs operated in large areas of communities. With few or null consequences.
“These bands of thieves followed a strategy to increase their unexpected profits and reduce their chances of spending time in prison,” he said.
The assemblyman recalled that the procedural tool was available between 2019 and 2021, but his short -term discontinuation was allowed, which caused an almost immediate increase from the robberies to minorites.
“It was a long way to achieve the approval of this bill,” he explained.
In fact, AB 1779 failed the first time in the Public Security Committee, and the second time its approval was achieved, allowing the Department of Justice to process these crimes.
“The announcement of criminal charges should be a clear sign for the organized thieves that the days when the residents of Ventura and the Los Angeles County could be robbed,” he said.