COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Seven people were arrested Friday morning as a four-month undercover investigation yielded thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise.
Detectives first learned of stolen property being sold in a business back in Nov. 2012. The business, Just Computers, located near Platte Avenue and Circle Drive, was selling shoplifted items, police said. It was also selling property stolen from vehicles, homes and businesses, police added.
The investigation started in December and involved the Colorado Springs Police Department, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Fountain Police Department, El Paso County District Attorney’s Office, Safeway Corporation, Home Depot and the U.S. Postal Service.
Police said the business Just Computers, led by owner Clay Schaner, would receive the stolen property and then resell it.
It sold the stolen property mainly on Ebay, police said.
According to police, Schaner conducted more than $1.3 million in Ebay sales in a four-year period.
Schaner, police said, was the primary conduit for the stolen property. Other suspects were traveling from Castle Rock, Denver and Pueblo to conduct the sales, police said.
From where was the merchandise coming? Police said it was being stolen from retail outlets by crews of shoplifters. Specifics of the shoplifting are still under investigation.
Police said Schaner was working in conjunction with at least three others, including his son, Clinton.
The suspects, police said, all conspired to receive, sell and package for delivery stolen items and sell them on Ebay. The stolen items were shipped across the country, police said. There is also indication of international sales.
Police called the scheme an "organized criminal enterprise." Charges are anticipated to be filed under the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.
On Friday, police executed 11 search warrants at five different locations. Five of the warrants were for financial records and the rest were for web-based service records.
Clayton Schaner, Clinton Schaner, Caleb Butler, Tommie Bradley and James Driscoll were all arrested, police said.
They face charges that include Colorado Organized Crime Control Act/Prohibited Activities , Money Laundering, Theft by Receiving , Possession of a Weapon by a Previous Offender, Conspiracy and Theft Detection Devices.
Police said tens of thousands of dollars in stolen property was recovered on Friday. Police are now working to return the property.
This organization provided an opportunity for stolen property to be sold and as an incentive for people committing the shoplifting. Through interviews and investigation, police said the primary reason the people doing business with Just Computers was to finance drug habits.
More arrests are expected, police said.
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