A Pomona man was convicted on all 27 felony counts he faced for his role in an organized retail theft conspiracy targeting Home Depot stores, Ventura County prosecutors announced. A jury found Eber Bonilla Lopez, 40, guilty Friday of charges including organized retail theft, grand theft, receiving stolen property, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced the verdict in a news release posted by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, saying Bonilla Lopez was convicted by a jury on November 6 of all 27 felony counts he faced in connection with the scheme. According to the release, the jury also found true special allegations that the thefts were committed in concert with others and that Ventura County had jurisdiction to prosecute the offenses, even though the underlying thefts were spread across a wider region.
Breaking Down the 27 Counts
The jury's verdict included 13 counts of organized retail theft, three counts of grand theft, three counts of receiving stolen property valued over $950, and eight counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, per the release. Prosecutors said the conspiracy involved Home Depot and caused millions of dollars in losses to businesses across Southern California.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Brandon Ross, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney's Office Organized Retail Theft Unit, prosecuted the case. Nasarenko called the conviction a significant step toward holding accountable those responsible for the criminal enterprise, and said organized retail theft hurts businesses and employees while driving up costs for consumers.
A Case With a Much Larger Backstory
Bonilla Lopez's conviction lands over a year after investigators first went public with details of a sprawling alleged theft operation hitting Home Depot locations across the region. In August 2025, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced a 48-count criminal complaint against a 14-member crew, according to the Orange County Register. That report described the multi-agency effort, dubbed Operation Kill Switch, as resulting in the arrest of all 14 alleged members, with nine charged at the time.
Estimates of the operation's scale have varied between outlets. The Register reported the crew stole more than 600 times from 71 Home Depot stores spanning Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. KTLA, however, put the figure at more than 500 thefts across more than 70 stores over five or six months, with Ventura County officials telling the station at the time that nine people had been charged in what they called the largest Home Depot theft case in the nation. KTLA also reported that authorities recovered roughly $3.7 million in stolen merchandise during raids that month.
Why Ventura County Could Prosecute
The jury's finding that Ventura County had jurisdiction to prosecute the offenses reflects a legal question that can arise when thefts span multiple counties. California's AB-1065, bill text covering theft aggregation in organized retail theft cases, states that jurisdiction can extend to the county where a theft or receipt of stolen merchandise occurred, where the merchandise was recovered, or where a defendant performed an act instigating, procuring, promoting, aiding, or abetting the offense, according to California Legislative Information.
Nasarenko said his office will continue working with law enforcement partners to dismantle criminal networks and ensure those responsible face consequences. For now, Bonilla Lopez stands convicted on every count he faced, with the broader question of how many others tied to the larger alleged operation will ultimately face trial still playing out in Ventura County courts.
