(The Center Square) – Florida continues to crack down on retail theft. Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution has secured another sentence and restitution order for another leader of an organized retail theft ring in 15 counties.
Just a few weeks ago, Moody announced the results of a recent racketeering investigation into another major operation targeting retail theft, which involved millions in stolen items and murder.
Moody on Wednesday announced an eight-year prison sentence for Byron Johnson, who operated a theft ring in 15 counties that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to Home Depot stores.
“In Florida, we are fighting back against organized retail theft,” Moody says. “We will not allow this crime, occurring rampantly in other parts of our country, to wreak havoc on our consumers and businesses.”
Johnson’s conviction and sentencing resulted from a multi-agency operation involving the AG’s OSP, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The multi-agency investigation found that Johnson and four other defendants went to Home Depot stores statewide, rented heavy equipment and never returned them. They then destroyed the attached GPS trackers and resold the stolen equipment online.
At least 44 suspected thefts occurred over the course of the investigation. Defendants used stolen identifications and also misled unsuspecting individuals to use their IDs to rent the equipment. Most of the stolen items were sold on Facebook Marketplace, investigators found.
Johnson was charged with “one count of grand theft, more than $100,000, a first-degree felony; one count of scheme to defraud, a third-degree felony; nine counts of dealing in stolen property, all second-degree felonies; and unlawful possession of the personal identification information of another person, a third-degree felony,” according to the AG’s office.
He will serve eight years in prison, followed by five years’ probation, and pay $539,360 in restitution.
Four other defendants were charged with grand theft of varying amounts, ranging from first to third-degree felonies. These cases are still pending, according to the AG’s OSP.
Since 2019, the Office of Statewide Prosecution has secured an overall conviction rate of 99%. It’s tasked with prosecuting crimes that impact two or more judicial circuits in Florida.
Most OSP charges resulted from multi-jurisdictional investigations. One includes a retail theft scam targeting multiple Walmart stores in Polk County. Of those involved, one is currently serving time in prison. Another is under the supervision of the Florida Department of Corrections. Arrest warrants are currently out for two alleged members. One is deceased.
Another involves a retail theft scam operating in South Florida in at least nine judicial circuits. This scam caused over $20 million in losses to more than 20 different retailers. It involved dozens of serial retail thieves who “brought stolen items to a first-level illicit distributor,” who then allegedly sold the stolen items “to a higher-level distributor,” according to the investigation. The alleged thief at the top of the organization owned an Amazon storefront where he resold the stolen items to unsuspecting consumers nationwide. The first-level distributor was murdered and a separate investigation is ongoing.
