Los Angeles-area law enforcement reported several arrests this week in the recent smash-and-grab retail theft spree that has hit several local businesses. Suspects wearing hoods, masks, and gloves have targeted high-end retail businesses, primarily on the west side of the city and San Fernando Valley. “Many of our suspects are from the South Los Angeles area and some are linked to criminal street gangs,” the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said in a release this week. In one incident, at about 7 p.m. Nov. 24 five people entered the Nordstrom store at the Westfield Topanga and the Village shopping mall in Canoga Park, sprayed the security guard with bear spray, and fled with about $5,000 in stolen purses. The sheriff’s department recovered the bear spray and it is being tested for DNA recovery, according to the department. On Nov. 22, about 20 people entered a Nordstrom store at the Grove retail …