San Francisco cops are coming down hard on alleged repeat offenders accused of repeatedly walking into a high-end REI store and making off with hundreds — and sometimes thousands — of dollars in gear.
The three habitual thieves were arrested after REI teamed up with the San Francisco Police Department’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force, which is targeting repeat offenders and working with retailers to build cases against them.
REI joined the task force’s retail partnership in May.
The store began flagging suspected repeat thieves for investigators, allowing cops to circulate their information and quickly respond when the alleged offenders returned.
On July 13, store employees alerted police that 45-year-old Erick Rock was allegedly inside the REI stealing merchandise.
Officers spotted Rock fleeing the store on a bicycle and recovered nearly $1,200 worth of merchandise, police said.
Investigators then connected Rock to 12 additional alleged thefts — with total losses topping $7,200, according to authorities.
He was arrested July 16 and charged with second-degree burglary, two counts of grand theft and 11 counts of shoplifting.
On July 14, REI reported another alleged habitual thief.
Officers arrested 52-year-old Johanna Daniels while Daniels was fleeing on foot and recovered more than $600 in merchandise.
Investigators linked Daniels to 10 additional incidents, bringing total losses to more than $4,700.
Daniels was arrested July 17 on charges including second-degree burglary, grand theft, nine counts of petty theft with priors and shoplifting.
Then, on Aug. 19, REI reported that another suspect who allegedly stole from the store multiple times a week had returned.
Officers arrested 51-year-old Dennis Kelley, who was carrying $310 worth of stolen backpacks.
Investigators connected Kelley to 16 other theft incidents at the same store, with total losses exceeding $8,000.
Kelley was arrested on charges including organized retail theft, grand theft, second-degree burglary and 16 counts of petty theft with priors.
The crackdown comes as California’s Proposition 36 gives police and prosecutors another tool for dealing with repeat theft offenders.
Voters approved the “Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act” in November 2024. The law added Penal Code Section 666.1, which allows theft offenses that would normally be misdemeanors to be prosecuted as felonies when a suspect has two or more prior convictions for qualifying theft-related offenses.
The REI cases are part of a wider SFPD push against alleged retail-crime regulars.
During National Blitz Week from Aug. 1 through 9, the task force conducted operations at Stonestown Galleria and various Whole Foods and Walgreens locations, targeting “boosters” and “fencers.”
The operations resulted in 19 arrests.
