Two Hispanics, Danna Pejarno and Andrés Díaz, found themselves behind bars in California after being arrested with alleged stolen merchandise worth thousands of dollars in their possession. The incident took place at the Westfield Valley Fair mall in San José, California.
According to the San José authorities, security personnel at the mall and officers from the San José Police Department caught the suspects as they were allegedly leaving with unpaid electronic merchandise. The arrest occurred after multiple reports of theft at the mall on the evening of April 15th.
A reserve officer, working as internal security at the mall, received the alert at 8:00 PM while on a surveillance round. The complainants reported that three individuals were stealing electronic products from various stores. The officer requested backup, and a police sergeant who was about to finish his shift responded quickly to prevent the suspects from fleeing.
Upon approaching the suspects, the officers conducted a quick search and allegedly found over $1,000 worth of stolen merchandise. Further inspection of their vehicle yielded an additional $12,000 in unpaid merchandise. The suspects were immediately arrested for organized retail theft.
Danna Pejarno and Andrés Díaz were placed in the main Santa Clara County jail, while the underage suspect was taken to a juvenile facility. The investigation is ongoing to determine if there are more victims of the suspects’ crimes and to track the destination of the stolen merchandise.
Authorities suspect there may be other similar cases involving the accused individuals and are urging anyone with information to contact the San José Police Finance Crimes Unit. The suspects are expected to appear in court to face charges, with details of their court date yet to be determined. The investigation continues to identify any additional victims of retail theft in the area.
