Ventura County Sheriff – Incident Press Release
A cooperative effort and partnership between Target store loss prevention, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Simi Valley Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department revealed an organized retail theft crew who had stolen a large quantity of store merchandise from multiple Target store locations.
On March 16, 2021, at around 2:34PM, Moorpark deputies were dispatched to Target, located at 800 E. Los Angeles Avenue, regarding a theft in progress. Loss prevention provided Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch with suspect descriptions of two males and indicated they had stolen over the counter medication from the store. Prior to the arrival of deputies, the suspects fled the area in a black Infiniti sedan.
Deputies spotted the suspect vehicle on eastbound Los Angeles Avenue and initiated a traffic enforcement stop. Three suspects from the Los Angeles area were contacted inside the vehicle. They were identified as Dorrien Blake, Joshua Johnson and Jada Gayles.
Deputies searched the Infiniti and located two large trash bags filled with predominantly over the counter medication. The bags also contained various make-up and hygiene items. All merchandise was presumed to be stolen and totaled over $4800.00. Over $1860.00 in cash was also located inside the vehicle.
In Ventura County, Blake and Johnson were responsible for previous organized retail theft crimes in the cities of Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Camarillo. These two individuals are part of an organized retail theft crew who are associated with 48 incidents of theft at 36 different Target store locations in Southern California. The total merchandise loss for these Target stores were reported at over $50,000.00.
Blake and Gayles were arrested for organized retail theft and possession of stolen property. Johnson was arrested for second degree commercial burglary. Blake and Johnson remain at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility, with their arraignments scheduled for March 22, 2021. Blake’s current bail is set at $50,000.00 and Johnson’s bail is currently set at $20,000.00.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office continues to aggressively enforce retail crimes and work collaboratively with local retailers to deter, detect, dismantle and stop organized retail rings
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