Two women suspected of stealing approximately $18,000 worth of cosmetics and additional items at several pharmacies in the Bermuda Dunes area in an organized retail theft have been taken into custody, authorities announced Monday.
Deputies from the Thermal Sheriff’s Station Rural Crime Team, with assistance from Coachella Valley Narcotics Task Force, Action Team, and Union Pacific Railroad Police investigators, located the suspect vehicle in Los Angeles, where they took 24-year-old Davonna Pierce of Perris and 25-year-old Dominique Thornton of El Monte into custody without incident, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators began looking into reports of a series of organized thefts of cosmetics and makeup items on Wednesday and determined that over $6,000 of merchandise was stolen from the 42000 block of Washington Street, sheriff’s officials said.
The suspect vehicle was identified during the investigation, and detectives linked it to four additional thefts at nearby pharmacies, resulting in an estimated additional loss of $12,000.
Sheriff’s officials said the two suspects were believed to be part of a larger organized retail theft operation.
Thornton and Pierce were both booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on charges related to grand theft, organized retail theft, theft with prior convictions, conspiracy, and accessory to a crime.
The sheriff’s office said both suspects were given bail enhancements and placed on bail holds.
Anyone with information regarding the case was urged to call Deputy J. Lopez Moreno or Deputy J. Castillo of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Thermal Station Rural Crime Team at 760-863-8990.