September 11, 2024 – San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office officials report that on January 16, 2024, Deputies responded to a burglary in progress at a cannabis processing plant in northern San Luis Obispo County. Witnesses reported seeing at least seven suspects running out of the business with bags of cannabis.

When Deputies arrived, the suspects had already fled the scene. Deputies discovered at least 500 pounds of processed and packaged marijuana had been taken as well as a safe that had been broken into by the suspects. The loss was estimated at $500,000.

A Detective with the Sheriff's Cannabis Compliance Team conducted a follow-up investigation and discovered a similar crime had occurred in San Jose. The Detective contacted the San Jose Police Department and ultimately the California Department of Justice as part of a multi-agency investigation into a crew of Oakland gang members who were hitting cannabis-related facilities.

Last week, the state DOJ arrested and charged 22 people for these crimes which included 13 people involved in the northern San Luis Obispo County burglary.

The suspects are thought to be responsible for at least 15 dispensary burglaries in nine different California counties which resulted in a loss of more than $1 million dollars and almost a thousand pounds of cannabis.

The link to the DOJ information can be found here: California Attorney General Announces Arrests, Charges Against 22 Suspects for Organized Retail Crime Scheme Targeting Cannabis Retail Stores Statewide Including in Merced, Fresno and Santa Cruz Counties

Source: San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office