'Organized Retail Thieves' Strike Temecula Stores: Sheriff's Dept.

TEMECULA, CA — A ring of female retail thieves hit Temecula stores this month, and investigators think there may be more victims, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department announced Thursday.

The investigation stems back to shortly after 5 p.m. Dec. 3 when Christian Dashawnkay Ragland, 28, allegedly burglarized a retail store in the 31000 block of Temecula Parkway and made off with stolen cosmetics, according to the sheriff's department.

A witness reported the incident and provided deputies with a license plate number and description of the suspected getaway vehicle — a black Lincoln Continental.

A short time later, deputies spotted the sedan parked nearby in front of another retail store as three females ran out of the business "holding bags full of additional stolen merchandise," according to the sheriff's department.

Deputies caught up with two of the suspects — Ragland and a 15-year-old juvenile.

When investigators searched the Lincoln, they found "several trash bags with over 1,000 items of stolen merchandise from different retail stores," the sheriff's department reported.

Over-the-counter medications and beauty supply products were among the items; in total, about $20,000 worth of merchandise was recovered, according to the department.

Based on the haul, eight stores were identified "as possible victims" of Ragland and her accomplices, the sheriff's department reported.

Ragland and the 15-year-old juvenile were arrested, but information about the latter's case was unavailable due to her age. Details about the third female were not provided by the sheriff's department.

Ragland was arraigned Dec. 7 and pleaded not guilty to two burglary counts and two counts of grand theft — all felonies. She is currently free on $35,000 bail and is due in court Feb. 7 for a felony settlement conference, according to Riverside County court records.

The records show Ragland had a warrant out for her arrest on a misdemeanor prostitution charge.

The investigation into "the organized retail theft" is ongoing and additional victims are sought, according to the sheriff's department. Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact Deputy Alfonso Valadez at 951-696-3032.

Information about the alleged retail thefts coincided with an announcement Thursday that an arrest was made in an alleged robbery at a business in the 32000 block of Temecula Parkway. Read more here: Temecula Robbery Leads To Convicted Felon's Arrest In Anza: Sheriff

There was no indication that the two cases were connected.