Tide detergent, a Procter & Gamble product, is displayed on a shelf at a store in Tempe
There have been reports that tide detergent thefts are on the rise as the "golden liquid" has become a commodity on the black market. Thieves allegedly sell the detergent for half the price. REUTERS

In the frenzy of recent reports that Tide Laundry Detergent theft is on the rise, Orange County Authorities confirmed on Wednesday that a man suspected of robbing a Vons in Mission Viejo is being held on $1 million bail, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Ronald Ledesma, 54, was confronted by a store manager in the car parking lot on Feb. 7, after he had allegedly left the store with nine bottles of Tide detergent without paying for them. While making a getaway in his Ford Explorer, Ledesma then crashed into an off-duty County Fire Authority ambulance, hurting a paramedic. He continued to drive off but was finally caught and arrested by police in Lake Forest, in Orange County.

Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino revealed that at the time of the incident, Ledesma had methamphetamine in his system, reported the LA Times.

Apparently it's used to sell on the street, he said of why drug addicts would steal the laundry detergent. They probably get enough to feed small-scale drug habits.

Ledesma, according to authorities, has two serious and violent felony convictions and is now being held on bail for 10 counts of related commercial burglary as he awaits a preliminary hearing set for Tuesday.

Another case of man who swiped more than $25,000 worth of Tide Detergent over fifteen months from a Walmart in West St. Paul, Minnesota has also been in the spotlight, since a report by The Daily of rising Tide detergent thefts went viral this week. According to Fox News, 53-year old Patrick Costanzo was spotted on a surveillance video filling up his shopping cart and then walking out the store without paying.

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