El Verano Market busted for selling liquor shoplifted from Safeway

Four men were arrested a week ago today when police swooped down on the El Verano Market and recovered top-shelf wine, champagne and liquor believed to have been stolen from Safeway supermarkets by a shoplifting ring.
Santa Rosa Police detectives on May 20 began investigating a shoplifting ring that, since April, had been targeting Safeways and stealing high-end wine, champagne and liquor. While one shoplifter acted as lookout, the other would fill a shopping cart with bottles and then both would flee the store, said a statement from the Santa Rosa Police Department.
The team hit four stores in Santa Rosa as well as Safeways in Sebastopol, Windsor, Petaluma and Fairfield for a total loss of about $8,500.
On July 11, detectives had two suspects under surveillance: Sonoma Valley residents Jeremy James Winslow and Kayed Mahmoud Kayed. Police observed them stealing top-shelf wine, champagne and liquor from Safeway stores in Windsor and Petaluma. Police then followed the suspects to El Verano Market on Bay Street where the suspects unloaded the stolen alcohol with the help of El Verano market employee Darweesh Suliman Arikat.
On July 12, Santa Rosa Police served search warrants and found “numerous bottles of alcohol with Safeway labels still on them” at El Verano Market, said the police statement.
The market’s owner, Suliman Ali Arikat, and his son, Darweesh Suliman Arikat, were arrested.
On the same day, police found some 210 bottles of Safeway alcohol, a large amount of fireworks that required pickup by the Sonoma County Bomb Squad, $2,249 in cash, and a small amount of cocaine at locations in the Sonoma Valley at which they arrested suspects Jeremy Winslow and Kayed Kayed.
The suspects were booked at the Sonoma County jail on the following charges:
• Suliman Ali Arikat, age 58, El Sobrante resident: Receiving stolen property, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of cocaine.
• Darweesh Suliman Arikat, age 27, El Sobrante resident: Receiving stolen property, conspiracy to commit a crime.
• Jeremy James Winslow, age 29, Sonoma Valley resident: Burglarly, grand theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy to commit a crime.
• Kayed Mahmoud Kayed, age 29, Sonoma Valley resident: Burglarly, grand theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy to commit a crime.
Each suspect had his bail set at $150,000.