California state wide fraud ring of three - two arrested for tens of thousands - Ongoing investigation  Two men were arrested and authorities were seeking a third accomplice Thursday in connection with an alleged fake credit card operation suspected of defrauding businesses in the Coachella Valley and beyond out of tens of thousands of dollars. Officers obtained a search warrant for the suspects' rental car, where investigators allegedly found hundreds of "manufactured credit cards," purchased gift cards and stolen property, including clothes, electronics and other goods, Eller said. Investigators determined the suspects used stolen credit card numbers to steal merchandise from several Southern California businesses. "The investigation revealed the suspects have been committing retail fraud with stolen credit card numbers in the cities of San Diego, Indio, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, and Temecula," Eller said. "The total loss is estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars and the victims associated to the stolen credit card numbers reside in different states across the nation. Javier Barragan, 31, of San Diego, and Osario Tovar, 25, of Tijuana, were booked into the Riverside County jail in Indio for investigation of burglary, fraud, identity theft and possession of stolen property. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Investigator R. Smith with the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station at 760-836-1668.  patch.com kesq.com

ORC male stealing breast pumps from Target stores across Los Angeles County - assaulted LP officer in Palmdale  A man has been stealing Medela breast pumps from Target stores throughout the Los Angeles County area, detectives from the Los Angeles County sheriff's Palmdale Station said. Authorities asked for the public's help Thursday to find a breast pump thief who is now suspected of assaulting a loss prevention officer. Detectives say the thief goes into the store, selects several breast pumps, ranging in price from $170 to $400, and switches the UPC scanning labels with less expensive Medela items. Several Target stores have already been victimized and are alerting other locations about this man and his motives. cbslocal.com

Third suspect arrested in Memphis $12,000 clothing store robbery
A third suspect accused of stealing $12,000 worth of jeans from a store on Highland Avenue in March has been arrested, police said. Mardrekus Robinson, 23, has been charged with two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping and three counts of aggravated robbery in the theft. Police said on March 26 four masked men entered Icon clothing store at 575 S. Highland and forced two employees on the floor while they grabbed the clothes and fled. Ladarius Robinson, 20, was arrested immediately after the robbery. Another man who police have not identified was also arrested. Mardrekus Robinson was arrested after he was pulled over on a traffic stop recently. Officers spotted a jacket and several pairs of jeans in his car with the price tags and security sensors still attached, according to his arrest affidavit. He told police the True Religion and Rock Revival clothes that can run up to $300 a pair for jeans were his and that he planned to sell them, according to affidavit. commercialappeal.com

Scranton, PA men charged with robbing Steamtown Mall Foot Action store  A city man was arrested after he admitted he didn't stop two acquaintances from robbing the shoe store where he worked. The Mall at Steamtown's Footaction USA employee Christopher Johnson, 18, told police two men followed him into the store room around 7:02 p.m. April 14 and threatened to beat him up if he did not hand over nine pairs of Air Jordan sneakers. All together, the robbers left with about $2,000 worth of merchandise from the shop. Scranton Detectives James Pappas and Michael Schultz interviewed Mr. Johnson and his co-worker, Deneen Bastian, and found inconsistencies in their stories. Mr. Johnson admitted he was involved in the robbery and said the robbers later gave him a sweatshirt taken in the robbery for his cooperation. thetimes-tribune.com

Second time is charmed for trio accused of theft at Walmart in Hickory, NC
Three Newton residents allegedly stole items from Walmart onTuesday, officials said, then tried to steal a second time. The first time, they got away without being noticed. The second time, the suspects were apprehended. Police said Melissa Huffman and Tina Ann Drum allegedly stole a variety of items and left the store. Ken Clark then allegedly took the items stolen by Huffman and Drum and returned them in exchange for a gift card, Dieter said. Then Clark, Huffman, and Drum attempted to buy t-shirts, camisoles, a banana, shorts, and two sodas valued at $74 with the gift card, Dieter said. hickoryrecord.com