Full Notification

SACRAMENTO- The Assembly Committee on Public Safety failed to advance AB 1613 (Irwin) a bill sponsored by Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub and Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. The bill was introduced by Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) at the request of Sheriff Ayub and District Attorney Nasarenko, to respond to a recent surge in high-profile retail thefts across the state and in Ventura County. The bill garnered early support when it was introduced in January, with twelve co-authors, including the Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee Asm. Phil Ting, the Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus Asm. Mike Gipson, and the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Sen. Tom Umberg.
 
The bill would have re-enacted Penal Code 786.5, a tool to empower District Attorney’s to charge organized retail theft rings with their entire criminal scheme, which routinely cross county jurisdictional lines. The Legislature passed and the Governor signed into law PC 786.5 in 2018 and extended it in 2019. However, the Legislature allowed the law to lapse last summer.
 
“The failure of AB 1613 is unfortunate and shortsighted” shared Sheriff Bill Ayub, “Californians are tired of being the victims of these organized theft rings and are demanding action from their elected officials. While I know public safety leaders in Ventura County are taking these theft rings seriously, these criminals don’t care about county lines when operating multi-million-dollar operations.”
 
AB 1613 was supported by the California Retailers Association, the California League of Cities, the California District Attorney Association, along with many local peace officer organizations. AB 1613 was opposed by ACLU California Action, Initiate Justice, and the San Francisco Public Defender. The bill failed on a 2-1-4 vote, with Asm. Lackey (R- Palmdale) and Asm. Smith (R-Apple Valley) supporting the measure, Chair Jones-Sawyer opposing the measure, and the remainder of the Committee abstaining.
 
“Organized retail theft crews are sophisticated, coordinated and mobile,” said District Attorney Nasarenko.  “They target multiple stores in multiple counties, learning in advance the store hours, security measures and the location of high-value merchandise for the purpose of committing a rash of thefts.  Assemblymember Irwin’s legislation (AB 1613) would have given a single District Attorney’s office authority over cases that cross county lines, an important legal mechanism for both dismantling these criminal networks and consolidating the prosecution into one courtroom.  While I am disappointed in the outcome, I will continue to work with the Assemblymember and other sponsors to see if opportunities exist in the near future to tackle this growing problem.”    
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