It sounded like the perfect summertime crime. Early in the morning on May 27, six men cut through a fence and entered Tustin's Raj Manufacturing, the maker of swimwear lines such as St. John, Hurley, Guess and Reef. They grabbed $200,000 worth of bathing suits, loaded them into a white van and fled, presumably off to sell the beach-ready duds on the illegal market. In a separate vehicle, two women were on cop-lookout duty.
Then they got caught. According to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, at around 5:30 a.m., the Tustin Police Department observed a suspicious white van while patrolling the area, and chased after it. As officers attempted to stop the van on 405, the men jumped out of the moving vehicle. Cops were able to arrest them, along with the two women in the other car.
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Baldomero Lopez Morales, Allan Jose Lopez, Omar Bermejo-Cruz, Johnathan Alexander Chamorro, Rogasiano Carpintero, Jose Luis Montecinos, Guillermina Ventura-Moran and Norma Yaneli Sanchez, all of Los Angeles County, were arraigned yesterday in Santa Ana. The men are charged with one felony count each of second degree burglary, grand theft, vandalism and other crimes, and the women are each charged with one felony count of second degree burglary and grand theft.
We assume the swimsuits are now back with their rightful owner, where they remain a source of dread for women everywhere.
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