Retail Theft Crackdown Nets 6 Arrests In Lake Elsinore

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A law enforcement crackdown this week, aimed at curtailing retail theft in Lake Elsinore, netted six arrests.

The operation was conducted Wednesday by Riverside County deputies who focused on a store in the 29000 block of Central Avenue.

The law enforcement personnel partnered with the business's loss prevention staff, the sheriff's department reported.

"The purpose of the operation was to identify and arrest retail theft offenders," according to the sheriff's department.

All of the arrestees were Lake Elsinore residents. Four of the six were arrested on suspicion of felony violations, jail records showed, including 54-year-old Patrick Graham (conspiracy and second-degree burglary); 57-year-old Lilia Navarro (conspiracy and second-degree burglary); 41-year-old Robert Ruiz who was taken into custody on more than a dozen felony charges; and 34-year-old Jospeph Gordon (probation violation).

The Lake Elsinore operation wasn't the only retail theft crackdown this week. On Tuesday, a similar event held by Riverside County deputies netted six arrests at a retailer located in the 6100 block of Hamner Avenue in Eastvale, according to the sheriff's department.