4 Arrested In Menlo Park Retail Theft Ring

MENLO PARK, CA — Four suspected members of a retail theft ring were arrested Monday, Menlo Park police said.

Rodolfo Castillo, 47, of San Francisco; Ama Jaques, 44, of San Francisco; Arnold Lampkins, 44, of Pacifica; and Julien Salgado, 33, of Martinez, were arrested on theft-related charges, according to police.

Officers at around 2:19 p.m. Monday responded to the Safeway store 525 El Camino Real on the report of a theft in progress involving four suspects, police said.

The suspects left the store in a red Chrysler sedan and drove to a Big 5 store across the street at 700 El Camino Real, where they stole a large amount of clothing and other items before leaving in the Chrysler, according to police.

Officers spotted the suspect vehicle leaving the area and arrested the four suspects after conducting during a traffic stop, police said.

Suspected stolen items from the Safeway and Big 5 stores were recovered along with other suspected stolen property from Home Depot, Petco, CVS and Walgreens stores were found during a search of the vehicle, police said.

Inside the vehicle, officers also located suspected narcotics, narcotics paraphernalia and credit card skimming machines, according to police.

“Due to the large amount of stolen items located inside the vehicle as well as evidence linking the four suspects to other felonious crimes within the City of Menlo Park and surrounding agencies, there will be additional violations added at a later time after the investigation is complete,” police said in a statement.

It was also learned through the investigation that Jaques and Lampkins were arrested on January 6, 2023 by an outside agency for engaging in the same form of criminal activity and driving the same red Chrysler sedan.

Two of the suspects, Jaques and Lampkins, were arrested Jan. 6 on suspicion of similar crimes by another agency, police said.