HASTINGS, Minn. — Editors note: The video above first aired on March 27, 2023.
Charges have been filed against four people who are allegedly part of an organized theft ring that targeted three metro Best Buy stores earlier this summer.
Court documents outline the theft charges against 42-year-old Yessenia Polanco, 33-year-old Davis Rugama, 38-year-old Jacquiline Pavon and 39-year-old Layorny Flores. The defendants all have permanent addresses in California and were recently arrested during an alleged organized theft at a Best Buy in Moore, Oklahoma.
Prosecutors allege that Polanco, Rugama, Pavon and Flores were in Minnesota on June 9 and carried out significant theft operations at Best Buy stores in Apple Valley, Eagan and Eden Prairie. The group reportedly made off with more than $13,500 in merchandise combined.
Video and still images collected from the three incidents suggest Polanco did not take part in the Eden Prairie theft.
Eagan police launched an investigation and learned that the suspects in the organized thefts would work together to select, conceal and steal items, at times using tools to remove anti-theft security devices. On July 20, investigators learned that four suspects were arrested while carrying out a similar heist in Oklahoma, compared photos and video of the suspects to images of the thefts in Minnesota and determined they were the same people.
The complaints filed against Polanco, Rugama, Pavon and Flores allege they are known to work together and steal from Best Buy stores across the country. An organized crime manager with the Minnesota-based retailer says the defendants are responsible for at least 23 different thefts totaling approximately $56,000.
Each defendant is charged with aggregating theft, a felony-level crime that carries a maximum recommended sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
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