It was a typical day at the HomeGoods on Birdcage Centre Lane in Citrus Heights until a shoplifting incident quickly escalated into a police chase last Thursday. According to a social media post by the Citrus Heights Police Department, officers responded to a call from Loss Prevention, who had been following a Jeep associated with the suspects after they had fled from the store.
The suspects, identified as Dominique Starks of Oakland, CA, and Starr Jones of San Leandro, CA, were apprehended by officers who managed to quickly locate their vehicle. Upon searching the Jeep, the authorities found not only stolen merchandise but also ID cards that signaled potential identity theft. As per the Citrus Heights PD's report, further digging by the police tied the duo to multiple felony thefts across the Rio Vista, Fremont, and Natomas areas.
But the thievery didn't stop at shoplifting. Starks and Jones were found to also be engaging in return fraud using the stolen identities, cumulatively resulting in approximately a $5,000 loss. This is on top of the thousands of dollars worth of goods they're accused of having stolen. Starks, already with a history of such convictions under his belt, and Jones were booked on several charges, including organized retail theft and identity theft.
The Citrus Heights PD commended the combined efforts of their Patrol Officers and Loss Prevention professionals, which led to nabbing the repeat offenders. "Great teamwork between our Patrol Officers and Loss Prevention partners to bring these repeat offenders to justice!" stated the department on their post. Investigations continue to unfold as officials believe additional stores could have been targets of Starks and Jones's organized crime spree.
