$50K Peninsula Lululemon Organized Retail Theft Ring Probed

PALO ALTO, CA — Four suspects were arrested Sunday on suspicion of organized retail theft in connection with incidents at three Peninsula lululemon stores that occurred the same day, Palo Alto police said.

A report of a shoplift in progress at the Stanford Shopping Center store led to the arrests of three adults and one juvenile, according to police.

A fifth suspect, who is a man, remains at large according to police.

Grafi Dumitru, 18, Elvira Fistogeanu, 22, and Florentina Izabela Matei, 20, were arrested on suspicion of felony organized retail theft, felony possession of stolen property and felony conspiracy, police said.

The fourth suspect is a 16-year-old juvenile who was booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of the same offenses, police said.

Police dispatch received a call around 6 p.m. on Sunday from the retailer lululemon reporting an in-progress shoplift at the Stanford Shopping Center at 180 El Camino Real. Officers arrived and detained four suspects, police said. Police also said they recovered 100 pairs of leggings valued at over $12,000.

According to police, four suspects entered the store along with a fifth suspect, the existence of which the police were not aware of until a further investigation. That fifth suspect is at large, police said.

The at-large suspect's vehicle, a blue 2007 Hyundai Entourage, was located in the parking lot, along with several bags full of items.

The bags in the minivan contained 300 items valued at $38,000 that had been stolen earlier in the day from other lululemon stores in Burlingame and San Mateo, according to police.

Anyone with any information about the case, including the identity of the fifth suspect, is asked to call the Palo Alto 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org.

— Bay City News contributed to this report