Curent Crimes

Ronald Ledesma loaded his grocery cart with nine bottles of Tide detergent and ran out of the store, authorities said. The 54-year-old man was in such a hurry to flee that he crashed his car into the back of an on-duty paramedic truck, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Besides the shoplifting and hit-and-run investigation, the theft went largely unnoticed by investigators at the Orange County Sheriff's Department, but officials now believe it may be related to a nationwide trend of swiping detergent from shelves of markets. "I mean, it has law enforcement somewhat baffled," Amormino said.Law enforcement officials have a theory: ordinarily used for dirty laundry, the popular detergent is now being used by addicts looking to make some fast cash. "They're selling it on the street for five, 10 bucks," Amormino said. The trend has caught the attention of several law enforcement agencies across the country, after The Daily – an iPad publication – ran an article about the little-noticed trend.The Daily reported one West St. Paul, Minn., man who was allegedly found to have taken off with $25,000-worth of it. Law enforcement officials often see suspects with substance-abuse problems arrested on thefts and burglaries. Suspects are usually looking for items that can be quickly sold on the street and can generate enough cash to buy the illegal drugs.It is not immediately clear why Tide has been targeted recently, Amormino said. With the recognizable bright orange bottle, and slightly higher cost than most other detergents, officials believe a $20 bottle can be easily sold on the street for $5 or $10. "We don't know exactly where it's being sold," Amormino said.Sheriff's officials have since sent out an alert to other agencies in the county informing them of the possible trend, Amormino said. After the hit-and-run crash on Feb. 7, Ledesma was taken into custody, Amormino said.Deputies believe he was under the influence of methamphetamines during the crash. Ledesma is currently in custody and facing seven counts of second-degree burglary, driving under the influence, and suspected hit-and-run with injury. Court records show he has been previously convicted of vehicle theft and receiving stolen property in 1993, assault with a deadly weapon in 1999, and second degree burglary in 1993.

He is currently being held in lieu of $1 million bail.