SAN JOSE — An organized retail theft ring that targeted Home Depot stores across the Bay Area and beyond is facing prosecution thanks to a new law seeking to punish thieves who operate across county lines, authorities said.

On Wednesday, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office announced four suspects were in custody following a months-long investigation. The suspects were identified as San Leandro residents 21-year-old Daniel Resendiz and 28-year-old Jose Martinez, 43-year-old Wilmer Ayala of of South San Francisco and 45-year-old Richmond resident Adolfo Herrera.

The Santa Clara County district attorney’s office announced that the four would be arraigned Thursday morning on multiple counts of retail theft, grand theft, vandalism and other related crimes.

The suspects stole more than $92,000 in power tools and other items from nearly 200 Home Depot stores and resold the merchandise at flea markets in Oakland and San Jose, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Brooks Jarosz. The stores targeted by the suspects were as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Santa Cruz. One store in Emeryville was struck 24 times, according to prosecutors.

The Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation in February following a tip from Home Depot’s organized retail crime investigators, Jarosz said, adding that with their help, detectives “identified patterns in the suspects’ movements and theft tactics.”

Prosecutors described the strategy simply: “Walk in, steal items, walk out,” yielding tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise, including blades, power tools, saws and pliers.

Jarosz said “coordinated raids” took place Tuesday in Richmond, San Leandro and South San Francisco. In addition to arresting the suspects, authorities seized drugs and found nearly 1,000 items taken from stores in a South San Francisco storage unit.

“Criminals relied on the fact that, by traveling from county to county, they could escape arrest and accountability for their thefts,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “That trick won’t work anymore. Law enforcement has its own crew. If you steal from Santa Cruz and San Jose and Sacramento, you will spend time in prison in California.”

The operation drew praise from Scott Glenn, Home Depot’s vice president of asset protection.

“We applaud the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office for collaborating with Home Depot’s investigative team to arrest this group of individuals,” he said. “This continued coordination will help stop organized retail crime and dangerous criminals from stealing from our stores.”

The Sheriff’s Office led the operation and received assistance from the county district attorney’s office, the California Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies.

“Retail theft doesn’t just affect businesses — it impacts our entire community,” Santa Clara County Sheriff Robert Jonsen said in a statement. “We remain laser-focused on dismantling organized retail theft crews and holding offenders accountable.”

The charges filed in Santa Clara County reflect a cooperative effort including district attorney’s offices in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Sacramento, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties, prosecutors said. They are being charged under AB 1779, a new law designed to help prosecute organized retail theft rings that work in multiple counties.