1 SF Teen Arrested In Retail Theft Case After Tesla Tracked: Police

SAN MATEO, CA — Three teenage girls were arrested Wednesday after police tracked a Tesla linked to a retail theft investigation, authorities said.

The investigation began around 3:27 p.m. on Wednesday when the San Mateo Police Department received an alert from a neighboring law enforcement agency about suspects involved in a retail theft totaling approximately $2,000.

The suspects were reportedly traveling in a black Tesla Model S, police said.

Officers with the department's Crime Reduction Unit began investigating and used automated license plate reader technology to track the vehicle's movements. Investigators determined the Tesla had been near Hillsdale Shopping Center earlier that day.

Around 5 p.m., a license plate reader alerted officers that the Tesla had returned to San Mateo and was heading toward Bridgepointe Shopping Center.

As officers responded, another alert placed the vehicle in a neighboring city.

Officers said they located the Tesla parked outside a retail store and detained the vehicle's three occupants.

Investigators said they determined the teenagers were responsible for a theft earlier that day at Nordstrom Rack in Bridgepointe Shopping Center.

A search of the Tesla uncovered clothing stolen from the store, according to police.

All three suspects were 17-year-old girls, identified by police as residents of San Pablo, San Bruno and San Francisco.

They were arrested on suspicion of organized retail theft, petty theft and conspiracy to commit a crime.

The teenagers were released to their parents following the investigation.

Police did not specify the value of the merchandise recovered from Nordstrom Rack or whether the teenagers were connected to the $2,000 theft reported by the neighboring agency.