Around 5 a.m., the 15 agencies, including six separate SWAT teams, served a total of 10 search warrants at various locations. All the warrants were in relation to a commercial burglary spree in which nearly 100 crimes were allegedly committed by members of the Long Beach gang in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, according to a police release. These gang members are responsible for stealing safes and burglarizing nearly 50 Southern California restaurants. Additionally, we believe this gang is responsible for nearly 50 Southern California grocery store burglaries, where they would load up shopping carts to steal large amounts of high end alcohol and electronics and flee out emergency doors to an awaiting escape vehicle. Kroger’s - Organized Retail Crime Investigators shared the felonious property crime information with the Seal Beach Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, who then initiated the investigation. Additionally, the Kroger’s - Organized Retail Crime Investigators were outstanding private sector partners. The Seal Beach Police Department began this investigation when the first alcohol push-out burglary happened in Seal Beach on November 14, 2013. The loss from this single incident was over $5,000 in high end alcohol and electronics. The suspects spent less than eight minutes in the store. The investigation is ongoing as this is a major blow to core financial source for this gang. Most of which have criminal backgrounds - including murder, and convictions. It's believed that they've been operating since early 2013. More details coming tomorrow in the Daily. (Source presstelegram.com)
 

View the official Operation Crossover Press Conference file here.

Details from yesterday's posting: Operation Bonded Ammo Leads to 16 arrested
 

In October 2013, Mesa Detectives began an investigation on the Eazy Pick N Pawn located at 118 N. Alma School in Mesa. The investigation started after a traffic stop where a stolen handgun was located in the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was identified a Aaron Ellertson, owner of Eazy Pick N Pawn.

As the investigation unfolded, detectives found additional information that other items of stolen property were being run through the pawn shop on a daily basis. Property of every type was being purchased by the pawn shop with no questions asked. Televisions, blu-ray players, cellular phones, game systems, jewelry, laptop computers, I-pads, tools and any other items of value were taken in by the pawn shop. Approximately 300 guns were recovered. Three stolen vehicles and one stolen motorcycle were also recovered.
 
The investigation came to a close when detectives served search warrants on the business and locations owned and maintained by Ellertson. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in property is now being gone through to determine the proper owner. Because there are thousands of items recovered it will take some time to try and identify possible owners. In total, sixteen arrests were made in conjunction with the operation.

Working hand in hand with the investigation is ORCA (Organized Retail Crime Association). Members of ORCA have assisted in the identification of property stolen and pawned illegally by the business. When large operations like this are identified, partners like ORCA are crucial to prosecution of suspects.

Working with the citizens of Mesa and retail partners, the Mesa Police Department is dedicated to stopping this type of criminal activity.

The D&D Daily would like to thank the City of Mesa Police Department, Media Relations, Sergeant Tony Landato, for sending us this press release.