Bay Area men accused of stealing $92K worth of Home Depot merchandise: sheriff

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Authorities have dismantled a "prolific" organized retail theft ring tied to nearly 200 Home Depot heists, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise in Northern California.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday that they arrested four suspects for their alleged coordinated raids at several Home Depot stores, including in Richmond, San Leandro, and South San Francisco. The suspects were arrested Tuesday and are suspected of hitting stores as north as Sacramento down south to Santa Cruz.

Sheriff officials identified the suspects as 45-year-old Adolfo Herrera of Richmond, 43-year-old Wilmer Ayala of South San Francisco, 28-year-old Jose Martinez, and 21-year-old Daniel Resendiz, both of San Leandro.

Sheriff officials said the quartet stole power tools, pliers, blades, and saws from the hardware stores.

They all face felony charges of grand theft, retail theft, receiving stolen property, and conspiracy.

Additionally, Herrera was also wanted for a previous probation violation and has a prior history of retail theft, according to sheriff officials.

By the numbers:

Sheriff detectives said the suspects caused more than $68,000 in losses in 2025 alone and allegedly caused over $92,000 in losses overall.

The suspects are accused of reselling the stolen goods at flea markets in Oakland and San Jose.

On Tuesday, over 1,000 items stolen from Home Depot were found in a storage unit in South San Francisco during their operation, the sheriff's office said.

Their operation, assisted by the California Highway Patrol's Organized Retail Theft Task Force and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, also yielded narcotics and other stolen merchandise.

What they're saying:

"Retail theft doesn't just affect businesses—it impacts our entire community," Santa Clara County Sheriff Robert Jonsen said. "We remain laser-focused on dismantling organized retail theft crews and holding offenders accountable."

A Home Depot executive commented on the arrests.

"We applaud the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office for collaborating with Home Depot’s investigative team to arrest this group of individuals," Scott Glenn.

Glenn serves as vice president of asset protection for The Home Depot.

"This continued coordination will help stop organized retail crime and dangerous criminals from stealing from our stores," Glenn added.

"Our task force has been exceptional in identifying and targeting the most prolific groups responsible for these crimes, ensuring that justice is served and that local businesses and shoppers feel safe," Jonsen said.

The investigation into the theft ring began in February after receiving a tip from Home Depot's Organized Retail Crime Investigators, though it's unclear when the suspects allegedly began their thefts.