Tri-City Family Busted for Facebook Retail Theft Ring!

The Richland police report calls it 'organized retail theft.' We call it part of a growing problem.

Richland police reported Thursday a family is in jail for running an organized retail sales ring on Facebook, but using stolen merchandise.

Renae Montelongo, along with her father Richard, and Mother Billy Jo (AKA BJ Cates) are accused of a series of retail thefts in both Spokane and Tri-Cities, then putting the items on sale in the Facebook Marketplace. No mention was made yet about the dollar amount total of the stolen merchandise.

Richland police referenced a Playstation unit Richard Montelongo was selling on Tri-Cities Deal Or No Deal, which is still apparently active as of Thursday morning. Had not yet been taken down.

Police caution people about buying items online, and this includes Facebook, Craigslist, and LetGo.  If you buy something, be careful. Just because you didn't know it was stolen doesn't mean you're going to be able to keep the items you purchased.