Three people have pleaded guilty to grand theft as part of high-end retail clothing thefts from stores in La Jolla and elsewhere.
Clothing taken from the Hollister Co. store and Abercrombie and Fitch stores were resold at swap meets for half the value, according to court records. The clothing seized by authorities was valued at $12,000.
Lorena Gabriela Ramirez, 43, and Zakharias Dennis Karasoulas, 51, will both be sentenced on July 25 by San Diego Superior Court Judge Dan Link. Mario Andres Espinoza, 42, will be sentenced on Aug. 31.
Ramirez and Karasoulas have agreed to pay back $6,643 and $4,876 respectively as part of their sentences. The restitution amount for Espinoza was set at $1,767.
The first theft confirmed by video camera surveillance occurred Sept. 1, 2015 when Ramirez put 15 men’s polo-style shirts inside her large black purse and she and Karasoulas left the Hollister store at UTC without paying for them. Each shirt sold for $29.95 each, and the store’s loss in this incident was $449.25, according to court records.
Another theft occurred at the Hollister store on Oct. 6, 2015, when Ramirez stole 18 clothing items with a total value of $449 and put them in a tan purse. Ramirez and Karasoulas also struck the Hollister Co. store at Plaza Bonita Mall in National City many times.
Managers at several stores attempted to confront Ramirez and Karasoulas but they escaped each time. Espinoza joined his co-defendants in the thefts on April 4.
On May 4, Karasoulas was stopped by sheriff’s deputies for speeding and weaving between lanes on Interstate 15 in his white van. Deputies discovered Karasoulas was driving on a suspended license and was in possession of 154 clothing items taken from the Hollister stores and Abercrombie and Fitch. Ramirez, Karasoulas, and Espinoza all face maximum terms of three years in prison. Since they have agreed to pay restitution, sentences of 180 to 120 days in jail are anticipated, according to records.
Ramirez and Karasoulas remain in jail without bail while Espinoza is free on $20,000 bond.