5 Arrested, Including 2 From East Bay, In String Of Retail Thefts: PD

SAN MATEO, CA — Five people, including two from the East Bay, were arrested and charged Wednesday in connection with a string of retail thefts targeting Lululemon — which was hit three times — as well as Macy’s and Home Depot, according to San Mateo police.

The first incident occurred around 11:14 a.m. at Lululemon in the Hillsdale Shopping Center, where Teivishon Nelson Salahudin, 30, of Reno, Nevada, and another person hid $875 in items and tried to return them for store credit with the plan of reselling the credit at a discount, police said.

Nelson Salahudin was charged with petty theft with two or more priors and organized retail theft with intent to sell and the other person was cited, according to police.

A few hours later at 1:13 p.m., officers returned to the store on a report of several people — some of whom had previously stolen from the retailer — who conducted a refund transaction, police said, adding items stolen from a Lululemon in Los Angeles were found in an associated vehicle. Endya Patteway, 26, of Union City, was charged with a felony warrant, according to police, who said additional charges in the case were being finalized.

Less than an hour after that, officers returned around 2 p.m. to Lululemon because a known thief was trying to return stolen items, police said, adding Crystal Sandling was stopped after leaving the mall with 17 pieces of merchandise, a security tag remover and a foil-lined paper bag used to dodge alarms.

The 41-year-old from Antioch was charged with petty theft with two or more priors and possession of stolen property, according to police, who said a warrant was being sought for a person who was with her.

Minutes later, officers were called to Macy’s and issued a shoplifting citation, police said.

Then, at 2:44 p.m., they responded to Home Depot, where Omar Gomez had stolen just under $900 in merchandise and was in possession of a stolen U-Haul truck, according to police, who said his passenger, Philisity Hosino, had drug paraphernalia and three arrest warrants.

Gomez, 50, was charged with petty theft with two or more priors and possession of a stolen vehicle and Hosino, 26, of Hayward, was charged with drug paraphernalia possession and three warrants, police said.