“I CAN JUST WALK OUT WITH WHATEVER OUTDOOR GEAR I WANT”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, POLICE SAY THREE ALLEGED HABITUAL THIEVES REPEATEDLY TARGETED A HIGH-END SAN FRANCISCO REI STORE FOR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN MERCHANDISE… AND NOW ALL THREE FACE MULTIPLE BURGLARY AND THEFT CHARGES.
San Francisco police are cracking down on alleged repeat offenders accused of targeting a local outdoor retailer.
The suspects allegedly walked into a high-end REI store repeatedly to steal hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in gear.
Three alleged habitual thieves were arrested after the retailer teamed up with the San Francisco Police Department’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force.
The specialized unit targets repeat offenders and works alongside businesses to build cases against them.
REI joined the task force’s retail partnership in May 2026.
Under the initiative, the store began flagging suspected repeat thieves for investigators.
That reporting allowed police officers to circulate suspect information across the department.
Officers were then able to respond quickly whenever alleged offenders returned to the property.
On July 13, store employees alerted police that 45-year-old Erick Rock was allegedly inside the REI stealing merchandise.
Responding officers spotted Rock fleeing the store on a bicycle.
Police recovered nearly $1,200 worth of merchandise, according to authorities.
Investigators then connected Rock to 12 additional alleged thefts.
Total losses in the incidents tied to Rock topped $7,200, police said.
Rock was arrested on July 16.
Authorities charged Rock with second-degree burglary.
He was also charged with two counts of grand theft.
His charges further included 11 counts of shoplifting.
And on July 14, REI reported another alleged habitual thief to law enforcement.
Officers arrested 52-year-old Johanna Daniels while Daniels was fleeing on foot.
Police recovered more than $600 in merchandise during the arrest.
Investigators linked Daniels to 10 additional incidents at the store.
Those additional thefts brought total losses to more than $4,700.
Daniels was arrested on July 17.
The charges against Daniels include second-degree burglary and grand theft.
Daniels was also charged with nine counts of petty theft with priors and one count of shoplifting.
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Then, on Aug. 19, REI reported that another suspect had returned to the location.
Store personnel reported that the suspect allegedly stole from the store multiple times a week.
Officers arrested 51-year-old Dennis Kelley at the scene.
Kelley was carrying $310 worth of stolen backpacks when officers took him into custody.
Investigators connected Kelley to 16 other theft incidents at the same REI store.
Total losses tied to Kelley exceeded $8,000.
Kelley was arrested on multiple criminal charges.
His charges include organized retail theft, grand theft and second-degree burglary.
Police also charged Kelley with 16 counts of petty theft with priors.
But the REI arrests represent only one component of a wider enforcement push.
The cases are part of a broader SFPD effort targeting alleged retail-crime regulars.
During National Blitz Week from Aug. 1 through 9, the task force conducted targeted operations across the city.
Officers carried out operations at Stonestown Galleria.
The task force also conducted operations at various Whole Foods locations.
Investigators ran blitz operations at various Walgreens locations as well.
The enforcement specifically targeted individuals operating as “boosters” and “fencers.”
Those blitz operations resulted in 19 arrests.
The recent enforcement comes as state statutes give authorities expanded options for prosecution.
California’s Proposition 36 gives police and prosecutors another tool for dealing with repeat theft offenders.
Voters approved the measure, known as the “Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act,” in November 2024.
The law added Penal Code Section 666.1 to state statutes.
The section allows theft offenses that would normally be charged as misdemeanors to be prosecuted as felonies.
That enhancement applies when a suspect has two or more prior convictions for qualifying theft-related offenses.
They had the reports.
They had the footage.
They had the suspects.
The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
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