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Thief accused of stealing $1M in merchandise from retail stores sentenced to prison

The defendant was ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution after pleading guilty in Maricopa County.

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — A man accused of stealing more than $1 million worth of merchandise from various retail stores has been sentenced to serve 3.5 years in an Arizona prison.

Juan Ambriz-Rincon, 40, was ordered in court to pay $300,000 in restitution after the defendant recently pleaded guilty to organized retail theft.

“Rather than being gainfully employed, this criminal made it his full-time job to steal over $1M from retail stores and then re-sell the stolen merchandise,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement.

Surveillance cameras captured the defendant walking out of stores with high-value items and not paying. Investigators later found a Facebook account linked to the defendant where he was reportedly advertising large quantities of Home Depot merchandise for sale.

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