Brothers arrested, charged with string of retail thefts in Ventura County

Two brothers were arrested and charged in a string of retail thefts targeting Kohl’s department stores in Ventura County, including stealing an entire jewelry display with more than $21,000 in merchandise, according to the county Sheriff’s Department.

Brothers Vardan Gevorgyan, 30, of North Hollywood, and Raphael Gevorgyan, 37, of Van Nuys, were arrested and charged last week in connection with the thefts, including two Kohl’s stores in the cities of Moorpark and Thousand Oaks, authorities said.

In November, a suspect cut a security cable from a large rotating jewelry display case at a Kohl’s store in Moorpark and carried out the entire case to a vehicle parked near a store exit, authorities said. The merchandise in the case was valued at more than $21,500, store managers told investigators.

The rotating display case contained 70 to 80 pairs of earrings, valued around $300 each, according to Sgt. Kevin Lynch with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. The thefts were caught on surveillance video and most of them took place in the evening during the Christmas shopping season, Lynch said.

“It was very brazen,” Lynch said, noting the suspect walked out the door with the display case in front of customers and employees.

Police said the same suspect targeted several other Kohl’s stores across Southern California, with more than $124,000 in merchandise stolen. One of the stores was in the 2900 block of Tapo Canyon Road in Simi Valley, according to police.

Over the next several weeks, detectives identified Vardan Gevorgyan as a suspect, who investigators said worked with his brother Raphael. On Friday, police arrested the brothers outside an apartment complex in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacoima, where one of the brothers was staying, according to authorities.

The men were booked at the Ventura County jail on two counts of grand theft and are expected to appear in court on Thursday afternoon.