National Crime Case With Menifee Tie: Stolen Eyeglasses

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A Van Nuys resident allegedly found with eyeglasses stolen from LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut stores across the country — including Southwest Riverside County — was arrested this week with help from Riverside County sheriff's deputies.

Pattamatananun Narinchot, 34, of Van Nuys was nabbed in the city of Los Angeles by deputies with the Perris Station Robbery/Burglary Suppression Team along with the Los Angeles Police Department Commercial Crimes Division, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

The trail to Narinchot began October 14 around 2:08 a.m. after the LensCrafters store located on Haun Road in Menifee was burglarized. A store window was broken and eyeglasses were stolen, according to the sheriff's department.

During the burglary investigation, deputies learned several LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut stores were burglarized throughout California, including the counties of Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Kern and Sacramento, along with the states of Nevada, Utah, Texas, Illinois and North Carolina.

With information obtained during the investigation, a search warrant was served at a business in the 5100 block of Hollywood Boulevard in the city of Los Angeles — more than 880 stolen eyeglasses valued at over $204,800 were found, according to the sheriff's department.

It was the largest recovery of merchandise stolen from the Luxottica Group in the state of California and the third largest recovery in the United States, the sheriff's department reported. Luxottica Group owns LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut.

Narinchot was arrested and charges of possession of stolen property are expected to be filed, according to the sheriff's department.