Rob AriasA retail theft crew accused of targeting dozens of Home Depot stores across Northern California is facing prosecution under a new state law aimed at cracking down on organized retail crime. Among the stores was the Emeryville location that was involved in 24 of the estimated 200 incidents that took place across 11 counties.
The Santa Clara DA’s Office made the announcement via a press release following a successful raid of a storage unit and home in South San Francisco as well as homes in Richmond and San Leandro. This raid netted over $65,000 in merchandise, including dozens of blades, power tools, saws, and pliers. It also led to the arrest of four men.
From January through April 2025, the crew targeted Home Depots throughout Northern California often striking multiple locations in a single day, They would then resell the stolen goods at local Bay Area flea markets.
Working closely with Home Depot’s Organized Retail Crime Investigators, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office tracked the actions of the crew across the state. On Tuesday, they executed search warrants at four locations across Contra Costa, Alameda, and San Mateo counties.
The Santa Clara Sheriff’s office referred to the crew as “The Blade Bandits” detailing that 1,300 items valued at over $92,000 were recovered.
BLADE BANDITS BUSTED!
— SantaClaraCoSheriff (@SCCoSheriff) April 30, 2025
Major Bay Area takedown of a theft crew targeting #California @HomeDepot stores.
🧰 Nearly 200 thefts linked
💸 $92,000+ in tools recovered
👮♂️ 4 arrests
📍 Raids in Richmond, San Leandro & South SF
🛠️ Over 1,300 stolen items seized pic.twitter.com/1KfYcfBNIB
Adolfo Herrera, 45, of Richmond, Wilmer Ayala, 43, of South San Francisco, and Daniel Resendiz, 21, and Jose Martinez, 28, of San Leandro, were identified as those arrested. They were arraigned on May 1 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose and charged with multiple counts of retail theft, grand theft, vandalism, and other related crimes.
AB 1779, authored by State Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D – Thousand Oaks), went into effect on January 1, 2024. The law allows District Attorney’s to more effectively respond to organized retail thieves by allowing a single office to prosecute conduct that took place across county lines.
“Criminals relied on the fact that, by traveling from county to county, they could escape arrest and accountability for their thefts,” Santa Clara DA Jeff Rosen said. “That trick won’t work anymore. Law enforcement has its own crew. If you steal from Santa Cruz and San Jose and Sacramento, you will spend time in prison in California.”
