3 Arrested in Drugstore Burglaries After Boasts About Alleged Shoplifting Hauls Are Overheard

A tip from a woman who said she overheard shoplifters boasting about their haul led to the arrest Saturday of three Whittier residents and the recovery of about $4,000 worth of stolen goods from five drugstores, Orange County Sheriff Lt. Larry Richey said.

At about 5:10 p.m., a woman outside a drugstore in Capistrano Beach flagged down a deputy sheriff to report the suspicious boasts of three people who had just left the store, Richey said.

Acting on the woman’s description of the car, deputies spotted the suspects as they entered another drugstore about 20 minutes later in San Juan Capistrano near Del Obispo Street and Camino Capistrano, he said.

The suspects were arrested after they left the store, Richey said. About $4,000 in s cosmetics and other small items were found on them and in their car, he said. The merchandise is believed to have been stolen from drugstores in Laguna Niguel, Tustin, Capistrano Beach, Irvine and San Juan Capistrano.

Booked on suspicion of commercial burglary were Delno Feryanitz, 33, James Barkley, 34, and Linda Nunez, 34. Bail was set at $25,000, Richey said.