14-year-old among gang of suspects arrested for stealing from California Nike store

On Thursday, a gang of shoplifters made off with thousands of dollars worth of products from a Nike store in Irvine, California. One of the suspects was only 14 years old.

While the juvenile's name has not been released, the identities of the other three suspects were made public. Kristen Jamie Himbarger, 19, China Celeste Morris, 24, and Anaiya Syrai Cole, 19, were caught on camera grabbing armfuls of clothing and accessories from the racks before bolting out the front door with their young accomplice and a man, who has not been identified.

According to KTLA5, all four suspects were apprehended by police shortly after carrying out the theft and taken into custody. The value of their loot was estimated to be around $3,000.

The quartet is believed to belong to an organized retail crime group that has previously targeted Nike stores in cities southeast of Los Angeles. Over the course of those attacks, nearly $11,000 worth of merchandise was stolen.

As the Daily Mail reports, this theft is just one of many similar incidents that have taken place in recent months, prompting LA groups to challenge the county's controversial new "zero-bail" law, which permits certain suspects to be let out of custody immediately after they are arrested.

LA Police Protective League spokesperson Tom Saggau is among the many who have slammed state leaders for eliminating cash bail, saying the move is "an invitation to these kind of folks who are inclined to break the law and inclined to do it so brazenly."

The legislature voted to do away with cash bail in 2018, and in 2020 a referendum was launched to determine the fate of the policy. Governor Gavin Newsom argued that letting offenders back out onto the streets would help "root out racial inequity and structural bias," and make the state "a national leader in the unfinished fight for equity and justice." The "no" side ultimately prevailed, and the decision to eliminate cash bail was reversed.

Earlier this year, however, LA County moved to go against the state and no longer make suspects pay bail to be released. The policy officially went into effect on October 1.