Duo charged with stealing $100,000 in goods from East Bay hardware stores

OAKLAND – Two men are facing criminal charges for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from Home Depot stores in the East Bay, prosecutors said.

The thefts happened at stores in Hayward and Newark between Dec. 14, 2022, and March 21, 2023, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

“The losses incurred are worth over $100,000,” prosecutors said.

The men – identified by the district attorney’s office as 23-year-old Juan Manuel Diaz Ramirez and 50-year-old Juan Manuel Diaz Tejeda – are charged with multiple felony counts of embezzlement, commercial burglary, grand theft and organized retail theft in concert.

If convicted, the duo faces prison time – Ramirez up to seven years and Tejeda up to three years and eight months.

The charges follow an investigation by the Organized Retail Crime Alameda Vertical Prosecution Unit.

“Our ORCA team worked diligently with the California Highway Patrol and the CHP Golden Gate Division Organized Retail Crime Task Force team, including Investigator Eduardo Garcia and Sergeant Manny Nevarez, who conducted extensive surveillance outside of Alameda County as part of their wide ranging investigation,” Price said.

The unit was initially funded by a $2 million grant from the state, which was matched by District Attorney Pamela Price last November. The district attorney’s office is one of 13 across the state that received funding to establish new vertical prosecution units.

Vertical prosecution requires a prosecutor to be assigned to an organized retail theft case from start to finish.