The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office recently received guilty verdicts late last week in a multi count felony theft case.  Erick Peralta entered Target in Lodi on two separate occasions to steal televisions valued at over $400 each.  The loss prevention officer caught Peralta in the store on a third occasion suspected to be in progress on yet another theft. 

Thank you to DDA Eiges for pursuing this case to trial and to the Target loss prevention officers who worked on identifying this defendant who had moved the location of his thefts from stores in Manteca to Lodi. 

Peralta had other pending misdemeanor theft matters and a traffic related case which were trailing the trial case.  All the pending matters were resolved in Court this morning and Peralta was sentenced for all cases to 4 years state prison.  The dates of the underlying offenses pre-dated Prop. 36, but the sentencing in these matters occurs after the passage of Prop. 36.

“This verdict and sentence send a clear message that retail theft, especially repeat and organized offenses, will not be tolerated. Paying is no longer optional in San Joaquin County." said District Attorney Ron Freitas. "Our office is committed to holding accountable those who repeatedly target businesses and threaten the safety and stability of our community."