BRICK TOWNSHIP, NJ – Individuals who have allegedly operated a ‘theft ring’ in the Brick Township area have been charged after a police investigation into a string of purse thefts and credit card fraud at local box stores.
According to the Brick Police Department, on Wednesday, at 5:00 P.M., Lt. Paul Catalina, Sgt. Jason Shepherd, and Officers Marc Alexander, Chase Carter and Terence Berkeley responded to the Target store at 570 Rt. 70 in response to a shoplifting.
“The heavy response was due to the recent string of purse thefts and fraudulent card activity at retail stores across the state. Detective Brian Farnkopf had been investigating several theft and fraudulent card activity cases at the Walmart and Target stores in town, among others,” the department said. ” The thefts were being conducted in groups of three to five males appearing to be from Latin or Hispanic descent, and the shoplifters at Target were described as a group of three Hispanic males, one of which was observed concealing merchandise in a backpack while the other two used several gift cards to purchase electronics.”
The department said the Street Crimes Unit Detectives in the area responded to the store and made contact with the suspects, and Detective Farnkopf arrived shortly after.
“The gift cards used to purchase the electronics had been purchased at a Target in Princeton earlier in the day with a stolen credit card. The three subjects, Luis Ramirez-Gonzalez (29 years old from Queens, NY), Esteban Ibrarra-Ignacio (22 years old from Queens, NY) and Hector Marquez-Troncoso (41 years old from Queens, NY) were all placed under arrest, and their cell phones and vehicle were seized,” the police department said in a release. “Ramirez-Gonzelez was found to be in possession of $233.37 worth of stolen goods. He was charged with shoplifting, credit card fraud, and theft by deception. Ibrarra-Ignacio, the subject who was discovered to have been driving their vehicle, was found to be in possession of $991.59 worth of fraudulently obtained merchandise consisting of an Apple Watch S7 and an iPad Mini. He was charged with shoplifting, credit card fraud, theft by deception, possession of a fake ID, unlicensed driving, unregistered vehicle and fictitious plates. Marquez-Troncoso was charged with shoplifting, credit card fraud and theft by deception.”
Detective Farnkopf was able to link several thefts and fraudulent purchases committed by all three subjects in other stores around the state to the April 6th shoplifting incident. All three suspects were charged on warrants and lodged in Ocean County Jail.