Appliances Recovered; 2 Arrested

Undercover sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents have recovered six truckloads of stolen household appliances and arrested two men who allegedly tried to sell new refrigerators for $150 each.

The cargo of refrigerators and clothes dryers, a total of 279 units, was stolen from a Carson-area freight yard in early October. Authorities said they had no clues until last week, when an informant told them the refrigerators would be sold in North Hollywood.

Undercover deputies and agents said they were watching last Friday when a tractor-trailer rig loaded with 26 stolen refrigerators arrived at an unidentified North Hollywood business.

After the truck drove off, they arrested Al Mizrahi, 35, of Los Angeles and Ezekiel Hyam, 38, of Sherman Oaks on suspicion of receiving stolen property. Deputies said they followed the empty truck back to a Wilmington freight yard, where they discovered 198 other stolen refrigerators and dryers stored in five cargo containers.

Deputies also arrested Bonnie Ray Jackson, 51, of Compton, who they said was driving the truck. He was held on suspicion of receiving stolen property.

Suspects Released

All three suspects were released, and no charges have been filed pending further investigation, Deputy Ron Layton said. He would not say who owns the Wilmington freight yard.

Layton said the stolen General Electric refrigerators, Whirlpool refrigerators and Whirlpool dryers were stolen from Algert Co. on Del Amo Boulevard while they awaited shipment to Japan.

Four 40-foot-long truck containers and two 20-foot containers were discovered missing Oct. 7, Layton said.

Hyam and Mizrahi are suspected of being middlemen who bought the stolen property from others and intended to resell it, Layton said. The recovered appliances are worth $225,000, Layton said. Another 55 refrigerators or dryers are still missing.

Layton and other deputies who assisted with the operation are members of the county’s Multijurisdictional Criminal Apprehension Detail, a joint operation of the Sheriff’s Department and suburban police departments.

The detail has recovered nearly $1.3 million in cargo stolen this year from communities near the Port of Los Angeles.