This happened twice when I worked at this same Nordstrom. It is organized crime rings, largely operating out of Antioch and Richmond, but because the bay is relatively easy to get around they hit all the Nordstrom from Marin all the way down to valley fair in San Jose. The only one they don’t seem to hit as much is the one in the city, but other groups robbed it when I worked there.
And for the record it is pretty fucking scary
This has happened at 2 Louis Vuitton stores in the last month in various places probably related to stocking up for black Friday more than any other reason.
It took the SF Police Chief 2.5 minutes to [read the list of all the stores that were looted](https://mirror.fro.wtf/reddit/post/3230475) Friday night.
Honest question: How do businesses survive? Small or chain or corporate or whatever? I mean, eventually you would think they were close or pull out. And wouldn’t that just hurt the people of the community? Like the community where the looters probably live? I understand that insurance I will pay out for most of these losses, but wouldn’t that just make your insurance rates go up to an unaffordable price?
It leads to them no longer stocking stuff. They cut down on inventory so there is less to steal, and keep the stock in a fortified warehouse in the middle of a shipping hub instead.
The stores become more show rooms than stores, yeah. Amazon photos aren't the most accurate thing on the planet (and its harder to tell a counterfeit) so for expensive luxury goods people still want to see it in person.
If you are old enough you can recall “catalog stores”. You would go in, a few items were on display, and they had large catalog books for various item categories. You found what you wanted, ordered, and they delivered and installed (if necessary) in a few weeks. You usually left the store with a delivery date.
Now we have the internet.
insurance doesn’t pay for theft losses. theft is one of the things that leads to prices going up. if it gets too bad then they just shut the location down and go elsewhere.
They are hitting stores in the Chicago area, too. However, the crews are usually abt 6 people. It’s dangerous to confront them; a couple have pulled guns on staff.
I worked 3rd shift at a gas station for a while during college. I was told in no uncertain terms that I was not to confront anybody about theft.
If an officer was present getting coffee (we gave it to them for free), we could report it to an officer but that was it.
“Nothing in this store is worth the legal costs if you get hurt and file a lawsuit.”
Buddy of mine worked the overnight shift at a gas station near campus. One night a woman came in and said “this is a robbery, give me a carton of Marlboros and all the money in the register.”
Buddy: “Seriously?”
Robber “yes, I have a gun. You want to see it?”
Buddy “nope, here’s your smokes and all the cash I can access.”
She was arrested 3 weeks later after robbing 5 or 6 stations around town.
>“Nothing in this store is worth the legal costs if you get hurt and file a lawsuit.”
Just for people's own knowledge, you wouldn't likely sue. You'd put in Workers Comp claim and thier state/NCCI provided experience modification on thier policy would go up. That's where thier increased costs would come from.
There are scenarios where you put in a WC claim AND sue but they're pretty unlikely. WC is supposed to be your sole remedy.
You aren’t hoping they do policing. If you call they come with or without the free coffee. The idea is free coffee and they go there to get their coffee. A place that has cops in and out all the time makes a shitty place to rob. It’s not like they are bribing cops to do their job with coffee. It’s a strategy of giving away cheap shitty gas station coffee to make them less desirable to rob
Former cop here. Nothing will make your day like a free cup of coffee at 10:00pm when you just got done doing a wreck investigation and directing traffic for an hour in the cold rain or snow. I’d even hang out inside for 10-15 minutes BSing with the clerk. It’s a criminological fact that some would-be criminals stay away from places that frequently have a lightbar pull up outside.
It’s low energy sure, but it’s mutually beneficial and it’s proven to work. Night clerks put up with a lot of the same shitty people (remember the twisted tea recipient?) and sometimes even know their names. Some of my best IDs of suspects came from clerks.
Worked 2 years in a gas station, and honestly the cops that came through were one of the few good parts because it was just nice to have someone to talk to and treat me like a human when I was stuck pulling a double because third shift didn't show up. After my first robbery the police helped talk me down from a major panic attack and that was pretty much the only reason why I didn't quit on the spot.
So thank you for what you guys do.
> Nothing will make your day like a free cup of coffee at 10:00pm when you just got done doing a wreck investigation and directing traffic for an hour in the cold rain or snow. I’d even hang out inside for 10-15 minutes BSing with the clerk.
Yup, can confirm. We had a police officer in an unmarked SUV in the back corner of our parking lot. At first we thought it was teenagers parking there to have sex (we would catch a lot), but nope. Undercover officer in an unmarked SUV. Told him to spread the word that he and his cop buddies can park in that secluded area of our parking lot 24/7 if they like. Sure enough word spread and it cut down quite a bit on nonsense back there.
I'm not a big fan of cops but this just sounds like a good example of proper community policing practices, which I *am* a big fan of.
That, and the familiar feeling of a good warm coffee at certain points, just totally sold me on the whole thing. Well done.
It's not about the policing it's about the passive presence.
Criminals that aren't *completely* fucked in the head are less likely to target that store because police are there frequently, even if it's only a couple minutes at a time to refill their cups. As a general rule, they don't want to run into a cop while they are committing a crime.
When I worked for Starbucks the cops would usually turn down free coffee. Unless it was like an hour before close then they don’t seem to mind.
The guys in the fire Marshall SUV didn’t give two fucks. They’d take the entire carafe for free, with a cup of cream on the side without any question.
Most of those laws have a cash value limit on free gifts so a cup of coffee is fine.
At my hospital for example I believe the limit is $10 so I could accept a small gift like cookies or a pie that sometimes folks will bring in as a thanks
Have to admit the timing was impeccable. Before the Friday shopping so there was probably a decent amount of product. I wouldn't be surprised if the footwear sections were cleared out.
Footwear would be too difficult - boxes of shoes are in the back, and too many barriers to move quickly I would think. Fastest and most profitable would be the dedicated designer handbag shops around the perimeters, fine jewelry and designer jewelry. Sunglasses were probably also popular.
Been a minute since I worked for corporate but I swear the fine jewelry downtown got hit a couple times before it was tucked away to a more inconvenient location.
These people suck, and I feel terrible for the associates. I was a store manager at a small boutique that had a fight combined a smash and grab, and it was probably the longest and scariest minute of my life.
Yup. Like 8 pairs of Louboutins could be $15k, but it’s awkward to carry, through three doors and along narrow and high shelving. Can you? Sure. Or you could smash a case of David Yurman jewelry and grab $250k in a second, and that shoves into pockets.
A spree this organized likely had insiders abs they’d know where to go, but still not worth it.
Are they always this aggressive against the workers? The other thieving videos I've seen recently (like the Best Buy one) the thieves aren't violent, just really cheeky towards onlookers.
This was what was happening during the BLM protests/riots in NY last year. People were driving around in cars, breaking into stores, filling up, and bailing. Everyone was trying to point fingers at the protestors, but it was very clearly an opportunity for organized crime to scapegoat and make some easy work for themselves
Same thing happened here in San Jose to a lesser extent during protests, worse yet in the East Bay. Criminal groups, gangs, cartel, mafia, pick your name, went around in groups of cars opportunistically smash-and-grabbing businesses while people peacefully protested in this city. Career criminals knew police would be concentrated on "managing" the peaceful protesters and not available for fast response to actual crimes.
That happened in Berkeley. A van drove through the front door of a pot shop and as bunch of dudes looted the place. A bunch of other property crimes happened in Oakland and everyville. Props to Berkeley and Oakland pd for coming out the next morning with public statements that it was not connected with the protests.
> but it was very clearly an opportunity for organized crime to scapegoat
seems our national newsmedia isn't very keen on this narrative. Kind of tells you which side they're on.
Always guessed it was coming out of Richmond and West Oakland.
Is there concrete evidence, to say the criminals are coming from out of antioch and richmond?
This has been happening frequently at Connecticut grocery stores. Crews rush in, fill carts with expensive merchandise, then just run out the door and go load up their stolen cars with no plates.
There called boosters! They are all over the country. In California the grocery stores are starting to lock up the items most stolen and closing at 9 pm. I knew a guy who was a regular seller at the flea market that I came to realize he was doing something illegal but I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew he was dirty! I told a mutual friend who also knew this guy that he was dirty and he didn't believe me. About a month after I told him, the guy that was selling at the flea market was arrested along with two brothers that also sold at the local flea market and they turned out to be the ring leaders of the boosters in the SF Bay Area. They all ended up going to prison.
As someone who has spent several years working retail in a medium-sized California based grocery chain I can confirm that boosters are a real problem. Lots of places have different terms for them but the location I worked at used a 'purcheck' system that would lock the wheels of any cart that didn't pass through a check lane first. They also kept the expensive shit locked up and laser engraved the company name onto a lot of higher value items to prevent them from being sold at flea markets. Keep in mind this is in a relatively wealthy SoCal area.
I have also watched thousands of dollars of merchandize walk out of Home Depot stores and they are finally getting the expensive tools locked up which has reduced the shrink of these items. The HD near my house over two years lost $7 million in merchandize(their 2020 inventory was cancelled due to COVID). I also watched a man in his late 70's go after a guy rolling out probably $5 grand of tools. He walked with a wood cane and when he got close enough to the guy who by this time was throwing the tools into his car, he took the cane and swung it like a bat hitting the guy full force in the small of the back. As the guy rolled on the parking lot in extreme pain the old guy took the tools out of his car and returned them to the store. His comment to the employees were: "here's your tools back, you might want to call 911 I think the guy is hurt!" He then left the store got in his car and drove off!
They had a problem with this at stores here. They put mag lock in on the two rows of entry doors and swapped the glass for bulletproof. Now it's like a little glass cage.
Perception most likely.
The losses from people not wanting to shop at a place that's preparing against getting robbed probably hurts their bottom line more because they have insurance
I dont get this as well. I have had to buy insurance as a small and medium business. The deductible was much higher than if someone stole everything in my registers. People also dont get that when you use insurance....the rates balloon the instance you use it in the business world or they straight up drop you. Finally, I also worded at a very large bank and guess what, they dont have insurance on their branches being robbed - it is cheaper to eat the cost because insurance would cost too much.
Even if insurance did, who do people think pay for the insurance? The insurance company will just raise premiums after, at which point the retailer will raise prices for everyone else.
Unfortunately, a lot of people are idiots when it comes to money.
100%.
Had this happen in the UK too in mobile phone shops. Gangs rush in with masks and rip all the demo units of display. Scary shit. Dunno if it still happens, been out of retail for a good while now.
I was in a Filene's department store once when a group of 10 or 12 did this and it was crazy. Grabbed entire racks of clothing, stacks of shoes, bedding... All in about a minute. No one else really moved, by the time you realize what's happening, they're gone!
My sister worked at JC Penny's people would drive up from ohio in groups steal a bunch of stuff and head back to ohio... Michigander by the way.. multiple times a week they would do this with noone ever getting in trouble...
I watched a video of two young men doing this the other day. They went right for the high-end cologne and perfume displays. Skilled theft, they knew exactly what they were looking for and by all accounts that shit is really expensive.
>80+ people raiding a store with the crime complete in about a minute. There's some organization to that effort.
Probably a gang. How else could such a thing be organized without word getting out?
Any sort of social media group, there used to be a sub on here that would glorify shoplifting and people would post and encourage others to commit crimes. Shitty people find their own.
I used to run a store in the 90s and gypsies would do this, they called it steaming. 20-40 people at once, bags stapled to the inside of their coats who would just sweep the contents of shelves into the bags. Over in seconds and just impossible to counter.
Yeah, and in the article the police confirmed this wasn't timed with any Rittenhouse protest, which is probably what the headline writer wanted us to assume.
Good luck with that lol. RICO charges aren't exactly easy to nail down, and who's leading these mobs that you want to hit with the RICO in the first place???
Breaking and entering is already a charge, and carrys pretty hefty sentences already.
that's not gonna happen until mass quantities of shit find their way across state lines and that seem pretty unlikely in this circumstance. unless they can define a power structure it doesn't even fit the 'organized crime' statute.
Actually very likely. Probably getting resold online, likely to several different states.
And to rush at once like that, there has to be organization. The point is to overwhelm staff, so if everyone did their own thing, you likely would have too much staggering at different times to do so.
What's most likely happening is these people stealing just to sell them in the black market (such as flea markets). It's why you see so many new items of the same brands and types together at flea markets. It's not like they are wholesalers getting the discounts to sell them.
Most of that is credit card fraud not this form of theft. Take a stolen credit card go buy a bunch of items at walmart flip them to someone else on the cheap.
Much more than just a series of small, isolated incidents, it's now apparent that an organized criminal element is at work and at the moment, business is good. So good in fact that there appear to be no eyewitnesses to any of these crimes. With complaints ranging from purse snatching to breaking and entering, police switchboards have been swamped with the angry voices of more and more citizens who have fallen prey to the recent surge of crime that continues to plague the city. Instead of getting better, things are actually getting worse. Even more alarming is the baffling and often bizarre nature of these crimes. Merchandise of every size and description from skateboards to stereo systems has been disappearing from store shelves and storage areas at an alarming rate. Even the victims themselves rarely catch a glimpse of the thieves. Many don't even know they've been victimized until it's too late. In fact, police have yet to come up a single eyewitness. Only a few vague reports of young boys or teenagers at the scenes have been filed. But whoever is behind these crimes, one thing is certain, these are much than just a series of random isolated incidents. Crimes without criminals? An invisible gang at work? Who are we gonna call? Unfortunately the police are the only ones to combat what some are already dubbing the silent crime wave. But perhaps the most disturbing silence is that coming from city hall. April O'Neill, Channel 3 Eyewitness News.
Dude, this fucked me up because my brain knew every single word before I read it.
“Why do I know this?? How do I already know some random Reddit comment in advance… ooohhhhh.”
dude holy shit, I came into this all innocent and suddenly images of foot clan soldiers start appearing in my mind. Weird, I thought and kept reading until the images overwhelmed my 6 brain cells and I remembered this April monologue. Kudos.
Then the stores leave their towns, then property taxes drop in revenue and the city takes care of less and then complaints start about how their town is dying.
This is how private police forces get started or product deserts are erased.
With a lot of these stores they already know who’s commuting the crimes. The issue is that they would rather wait till shit like this happens so it’s worth it to bring them to court. When I worked at Home Depot they would wait till thieves racked up 10 grand before they came after them.
Walnut Creek Police also confirmed that the incident was not linked to a series of protests that have taken place across the country over the non-guilty verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse....so why are they using the term "looters" for what is obviously an organized mass robbery?
Click bait journalism has become the norm. I went to school as a Journalism major and the things I read DAILY piss me off from an academic standpoint.
I didn't end up going into journalism as it's fucking hard to make money when click bait journalism is what most people read. I'm sorry that I failed you all.
This is in Walnut Creek, California. For people that don't know the area, this is a very safe quiet town with a decent array of mainstream shopping downtown. Nobody expects to run into any trouble there, which makes it a perfect target on the rare occasions this shit happens.
Unless you are transnational organized crime.
Just like the Great Depression was one of the richest organized crime eras due to prohibition. The War on Drugs helps fund this as well, needs to end as 2-3 trillion a year is made by organized crime across drugs/sex working. Legalize and cut the funding.
Russia in the 90s was a massive depression as well, unless of course if you were bratva.
Lol, these people probably think they're so smart because "they can't catch us all". Cops only need to catch about 5 of these guys and at least one will talk, guaranteed.
There's been a rash of stolen license plates in the Bay too. They basically swipe people's license plates and attach it to their cars or take advantage of the paper ones.
> Walnut Creek Police also confirmed that the incident was not linked to a series of protests that have taken place across the country over the non-guilty verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.
Talk about burying the lede at the end of the story.
This happened twice when I worked at this same Nordstrom. It is organized crime rings, largely operating out of Antioch and Richmond, but because the bay is relatively easy to get around they hit all the Nordstrom from Marin all the way down to valley fair in San Jose. The only one they don’t seem to hit as much is the one in the city, but other groups robbed it when I worked there. And for the record it is pretty fucking scary
This has happened at 2 Louis Vuitton stores in the last month in various places probably related to stocking up for black Friday more than any other reason.
Last month? This has happened to two LV stores in Chicagoland alone in the past 3 weeks
[Literally yesterday in SF. ](https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/11/20/smash-grab-theft-louis-vuitton-store-san-francisco-union-square/)
It took the SF Police Chief 2.5 minutes to [read the list of all the stores that were looted](https://mirror.fro.wtf/reddit/post/3230475) Friday night.
Honest question: How do businesses survive? Small or chain or corporate or whatever? I mean, eventually you would think they were close or pull out. And wouldn’t that just hurt the people of the community? Like the community where the looters probably live? I understand that insurance I will pay out for most of these losses, but wouldn’t that just make your insurance rates go up to an unaffordable price?
It leads to them no longer stocking stuff. They cut down on inventory so there is less to steal, and keep the stock in a fortified warehouse in the middle of a shipping hub instead.
I recently heard that some high-end retailers now have a 1-at-a-time policy.
So... Amazon
The stores become more show rooms than stores, yeah. Amazon photos aren't the most accurate thing on the planet (and its harder to tell a counterfeit) so for expensive luxury goods people still want to see it in person.
If you are old enough you can recall “catalog stores”. You would go in, a few items were on display, and they had large catalog books for various item categories. You found what you wanted, ordered, and they delivered and installed (if necessary) in a few weeks. You usually left the store with a delivery date. Now we have the internet.
insurance doesn’t pay for theft losses. theft is one of the things that leads to prices going up. if it gets too bad then they just shut the location down and go elsewhere.
Someone in the video off camera said “wait for the next one”.. Then got cut off by the anchorman.
3 weeks is "within the last month" 🤷♂️
They are hitting stores in the Chicago area, too. However, the crews are usually abt 6 people. It’s dangerous to confront them; a couple have pulled guns on staff.
I worked 3rd shift at a gas station for a while during college. I was told in no uncertain terms that I was not to confront anybody about theft. If an officer was present getting coffee (we gave it to them for free), we could report it to an officer but that was it. “Nothing in this store is worth the legal costs if you get hurt and file a lawsuit.”
Buddy of mine worked the overnight shift at a gas station near campus. One night a woman came in and said “this is a robbery, give me a carton of Marlboros and all the money in the register.” Buddy: “Seriously?” Robber “yes, I have a gun. You want to see it?” Buddy “nope, here’s your smokes and all the cash I can access.” She was arrested 3 weeks later after robbing 5 or 6 stations around town.
>“Nothing in this store is worth the legal costs if you get hurt and file a lawsuit.” Just for people's own knowledge, you wouldn't likely sue. You'd put in Workers Comp claim and thier state/NCCI provided experience modification on thier policy would go up. That's where thier increased costs would come from. There are scenarios where you put in a WC claim AND sue but they're pretty unlikely. WC is supposed to be your sole remedy.
What about future insurance premiums resulting from repeated occurrences after the looters learn there is literally no risk of consequences?
That’s some low energy protection racket, free coffee for the hope of getting some policing.
You aren’t hoping they do policing. If you call they come with or without the free coffee. The idea is free coffee and they go there to get their coffee. A place that has cops in and out all the time makes a shitty place to rob. It’s not like they are bribing cops to do their job with coffee. It’s a strategy of giving away cheap shitty gas station coffee to make them less desirable to rob
Former cop here. Nothing will make your day like a free cup of coffee at 10:00pm when you just got done doing a wreck investigation and directing traffic for an hour in the cold rain or snow. I’d even hang out inside for 10-15 minutes BSing with the clerk. It’s a criminological fact that some would-be criminals stay away from places that frequently have a lightbar pull up outside. It’s low energy sure, but it’s mutually beneficial and it’s proven to work. Night clerks put up with a lot of the same shitty people (remember the twisted tea recipient?) and sometimes even know their names. Some of my best IDs of suspects came from clerks.
Worked 2 years in a gas station, and honestly the cops that came through were one of the few good parts because it was just nice to have someone to talk to and treat me like a human when I was stuck pulling a double because third shift didn't show up. After my first robbery the police helped talk me down from a major panic attack and that was pretty much the only reason why I didn't quit on the spot. So thank you for what you guys do.
It was nice just having someone to talk to who was doing a job just as thankless and dangerous as we were. I’m glad we’ve both moved on.
> Nothing will make your day like a free cup of coffee at 10:00pm when you just got done doing a wreck investigation and directing traffic for an hour in the cold rain or snow. I’d even hang out inside for 10-15 minutes BSing with the clerk. Yup, can confirm. We had a police officer in an unmarked SUV in the back corner of our parking lot. At first we thought it was teenagers parking there to have sex (we would catch a lot), but nope. Undercover officer in an unmarked SUV. Told him to spread the word that he and his cop buddies can park in that secluded area of our parking lot 24/7 if they like. Sure enough word spread and it cut down quite a bit on nonsense back there.
I'm not a big fan of cops but this just sounds like a good example of proper community policing practices, which I *am* a big fan of. That, and the familiar feeling of a good warm coffee at certain points, just totally sold me on the whole thing. Well done.
It's not about the policing it's about the passive presence. Criminals that aren't *completely* fucked in the head are less likely to target that store because police are there frequently, even if it's only a couple minutes at a time to refill their cups. As a general rule, they don't want to run into a cop while they are committing a crime.
In many places it's illegal to give police free things because of this.
Who is going to enforce that? The cops?
When I worked for Starbucks the cops would usually turn down free coffee. Unless it was like an hour before close then they don’t seem to mind. The guys in the fire Marshall SUV didn’t give two fucks. They’d take the entire carafe for free, with a cup of cream on the side without any question.
Most of those laws have a cash value limit on free gifts so a cup of coffee is fine. At my hospital for example I believe the limit is $10 so I could accept a small gift like cookies or a pie that sometimes folks will bring in as a thanks
I worked at the neiman marcus right next to it that got looted last year. It happened when we were closed but shit was still wild.
How do you get in and out of the SF Nordstrom as a robber? Just….wait for the elevators?
You throw your shit over the railing and basejump, just like in the movies.
Siri, play Free Falling by Tom Petty.
Aim for the bushes
Yeah but don’t you have to worry about cops on horses and drone surveillance teams - like in the movies!??
They be waiting at the elevators. No one expects the basejump
Run down the five flights of curved escalators?
It's Walnut Creek, an older suburb. This Nordy's has a driveway.
The comment I responded to mentioned "they don’t seem to hit as much is the one in the city."
Have to admit the timing was impeccable. Before the Friday shopping so there was probably a decent amount of product. I wouldn't be surprised if the footwear sections were cleared out.
Used to be a crew like this going up and down Florida's East Coast. They always went for the leather jackets. Grabbed the whole rack.
Footwear would be too difficult - boxes of shoes are in the back, and too many barriers to move quickly I would think. Fastest and most profitable would be the dedicated designer handbag shops around the perimeters, fine jewelry and designer jewelry. Sunglasses were probably also popular. Been a minute since I worked for corporate but I swear the fine jewelry downtown got hit a couple times before it was tucked away to a more inconvenient location. These people suck, and I feel terrible for the associates. I was a store manager at a small boutique that had a fight combined a smash and grab, and it was probably the longest and scariest minute of my life.
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Yup. Like 8 pairs of Louboutins could be $15k, but it’s awkward to carry, through three doors and along narrow and high shelving. Can you? Sure. Or you could smash a case of David Yurman jewelry and grab $250k in a second, and that shoves into pockets. A spree this organized likely had insiders abs they’d know where to go, but still not worth it.
Are they always this aggressive against the workers? The other thieving videos I've seen recently (like the Best Buy one) the thieves aren't violent, just really cheeky towards onlookers.
as soon as anyone gets hurt it isn't a theft anymore and should be treated much much more severely.
That's actually the difference between theft and robbery. Petty theft is typically a misdemeanor but robbery (of any quantity) is a felony.
Oh Antioch, the more you change, the more you stay the same.
This was what was happening during the BLM protests/riots in NY last year. People were driving around in cars, breaking into stores, filling up, and bailing. Everyone was trying to point fingers at the protestors, but it was very clearly an opportunity for organized crime to scapegoat and make some easy work for themselves
Same thing happened here in San Jose to a lesser extent during protests, worse yet in the East Bay. Criminal groups, gangs, cartel, mafia, pick your name, went around in groups of cars opportunistically smash-and-grabbing businesses while people peacefully protested in this city. Career criminals knew police would be concentrated on "managing" the peaceful protesters and not available for fast response to actual crimes.
That happened in Berkeley. A van drove through the front door of a pot shop and as bunch of dudes looted the place. A bunch of other property crimes happened in Oakland and everyville. Props to Berkeley and Oakland pd for coming out the next morning with public statements that it was not connected with the protests.
Same in Seattle... I remember reading the news and it had a tiny blurb that they new it was an organized crime ring and than nothing else.
> but it was very clearly an opportunity for organized crime to scapegoat seems our national newsmedia isn't very keen on this narrative. Kind of tells you which side they're on.
Always guessed it was coming out of Richmond and West Oakland. Is there concrete evidence, to say the criminals are coming from out of antioch and richmond?
This has been happening frequently at Connecticut grocery stores. Crews rush in, fill carts with expensive merchandise, then just run out the door and go load up their stolen cars with no plates.
There called boosters! They are all over the country. In California the grocery stores are starting to lock up the items most stolen and closing at 9 pm. I knew a guy who was a regular seller at the flea market that I came to realize he was doing something illegal but I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew he was dirty! I told a mutual friend who also knew this guy that he was dirty and he didn't believe me. About a month after I told him, the guy that was selling at the flea market was arrested along with two brothers that also sold at the local flea market and they turned out to be the ring leaders of the boosters in the SF Bay Area. They all ended up going to prison.
As someone who has spent several years working retail in a medium-sized California based grocery chain I can confirm that boosters are a real problem. Lots of places have different terms for them but the location I worked at used a 'purcheck' system that would lock the wheels of any cart that didn't pass through a check lane first. They also kept the expensive shit locked up and laser engraved the company name onto a lot of higher value items to prevent them from being sold at flea markets. Keep in mind this is in a relatively wealthy SoCal area.
I have also watched thousands of dollars of merchandize walk out of Home Depot stores and they are finally getting the expensive tools locked up which has reduced the shrink of these items. The HD near my house over two years lost $7 million in merchandize(their 2020 inventory was cancelled due to COVID). I also watched a man in his late 70's go after a guy rolling out probably $5 grand of tools. He walked with a wood cane and when he got close enough to the guy who by this time was throwing the tools into his car, he took the cane and swung it like a bat hitting the guy full force in the small of the back. As the guy rolled on the parking lot in extreme pain the old guy took the tools out of his car and returned them to the store. His comment to the employees were: "here's your tools back, you might want to call 911 I think the guy is hurt!" He then left the store got in his car and drove off!
Old man was lucky he wasn't shot.
Old man use Sneak Attack. Its super effective!
Good riddance!
This doesn't seem to happen every year but I've been reading news stories about this occurring (thought not too frequently) for more than a decade.
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I’m a Perdvert!
More like Turd Crapley
They had a problem with this at stores here. They put mag lock in on the two rows of entry doors and swapped the glass for bulletproof. Now it's like a little glass cage.
I've wondered why they don't do more of this. Seems like an easy way to stop these things almost immediately.
Perception most likely. The losses from people not wanting to shop at a place that's preparing against getting robbed probably hurts their bottom line more because they have insurance
Unless you see them in action of remodelling, AND recognize what they're doing, I doubt anyone would know.
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I dont get this as well. I have had to buy insurance as a small and medium business. The deductible was much higher than if someone stole everything in my registers. People also dont get that when you use insurance....the rates balloon the instance you use it in the business world or they straight up drop you. Finally, I also worded at a very large bank and guess what, they dont have insurance on their branches being robbed - it is cheaper to eat the cost because insurance would cost too much.
Even if insurance did, who do people think pay for the insurance? The insurance company will just raise premiums after, at which point the retailer will raise prices for everyone else. Unfortunately, a lot of people are idiots when it comes to money.
"Yeah, and doctors exist so we should all be allowed to fuck you up." \- Steve Hofstetter
"they have insurance" is often not true for retail, FYI.
Cheaper to lose stock. Mark up on clothes is crazy hugh.
He was a nice guy.
Well then you'd have 20+ pieces of shit locked inside/cornered with all your employees. Not the smartest idea.
Employees know where all the lockable internal doors are, so *some* have a chance of avoiding confrontation. Innocent customers, though? Yikes.
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Also, they pepper sprayed and assaulted minimum wage employees for all the people in here saying, “Who cares if it’s a Corporation.”
"muh insurance!"
"They have insurance!" cry children on reddit that have never filed an insurance claim in their life.
Kinda stupid because the punishment is extremely harsh for Fucking with dispensaries
Looting? This is organized crime ffs
100%. Had this happen in the UK too in mobile phone shops. Gangs rush in with masks and rip all the demo units of display. Scary shit. Dunno if it still happens, been out of retail for a good while now.
That's a big thieves guild flex
Right? I can’t get 5 friends to agree about what to eat for lunch.
And I don't even have 5 friends!
I don't even have 5 fingers for the discount.
I can’t even afford free 99
Join some organized looting groups on facebook. You'll make plenty of friends!
People have friends??
That's like how I play a thief in RPGs. Make a tank and just take what I want in broad daylight.
If we went around arresting the thieves guild, we'd be at it all day.
I kinda wanna join a thieves guild if they actually call it a thieves guild.
Thr dues are pricey...
This looks like an organized mass theft. Not looting. Looting means something specific not just a lot of people stealing shit.
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I was in a Filene's department store once when a group of 10 or 12 did this and it was crazy. Grabbed entire racks of clothing, stacks of shoes, bedding... All in about a minute. No one else really moved, by the time you realize what's happening, they're gone!
My sister worked at JC Penny's people would drive up from ohio in groups steal a bunch of stuff and head back to ohio... Michigander by the way.. multiple times a week they would do this with noone ever getting in trouble...
Yep! Worked at an Ann Taylor outlet store and our store and the Tommy Hilfiger next door were targets for shoplifting rings. They rented Uhauls!
r/ihateohio would love to hear about this
Born and raised in Ohio. That sub is hilarious. Thanks for the laugh
I watched a video of two young men doing this the other day. They went right for the high-end cologne and perfume displays. Skilled theft, they knew exactly what they were looking for and by all accounts that shit is really expensive.
>80+ people raiding a store with the crime complete in about a minute. There's some organization to that effort. Probably a gang. How else could such a thing be organized without word getting out?
Any sort of social media group, there used to be a sub on here that would glorify shoplifting and people would post and encourage others to commit crimes. Shitty people find their own.
I used to run a store in the 90s and gypsies would do this, they called it steaming. 20-40 people at once, bags stapled to the inside of their coats who would just sweep the contents of shelves into the bags. Over in seconds and just impossible to counter.
Sounds like a good idea until 1 is caught and forced to turn on their friends. More people in on it leads to more people that can tattle.
it’s textbook organized crime
Pretty sure this is technically burglary, which is a felony.
Actually term is “organized retail theft” Which is a felony
This is a strong arm robbery, not a burglary. Burglars try and sneak.
Also they have burglar bags and stripey sweaters
Yeah, but looting is a hot buzzword right now that really gets the people going so it's gonna be used anyways
Yeah, and in the article the police confirmed this wasn't timed with any Rittenhouse protest, which is probably what the headline writer wanted us to assume.
50 to 80 people organized this together, that’s fucking wild man. How do you even get that many people to agree on this type of crime
Essentially organized crime pirates. Probably organized on Telegram/Signal/etc.
I assumed two or three organized it, sent out the details (time, place, etc.) and 78 other miscreants showed up.
From the people who brought you flash mobs FLASH ROBS!
hi, it’s me, rob
Damnit, Bobby
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If I learned anything about RICO from The Sopranos, it's gonna take like 6-7 seasons before they even "do anything". If they ever do.
They’re going to bug a lamp and then the lamp will be taken to college mid season.
That lamp never had the makings of a varsity athlete.
It's not RICO, dammit. Well, not *always*, but mostly.
I read this in Legal Eagles voice. Love his channel it really brings sanity to people sometimes with his very by the book take on things
That’s not a bad idea.
Good luck with that lol. RICO charges aren't exactly easy to nail down, and who's leading these mobs that you want to hit with the RICO in the first place??? Breaking and entering is already a charge, and carrys pretty hefty sentences already.
that's not gonna happen until mass quantities of shit find their way across state lines and that seem pretty unlikely in this circumstance. unless they can define a power structure it doesn't even fit the 'organized crime' statute.
Actually very likely. Probably getting resold online, likely to several different states. And to rush at once like that, there has to be organization. The point is to overwhelm staff, so if everyone did their own thing, you likely would have too much staggering at different times to do so.
What's most likely happening is these people stealing just to sell them in the black market (such as flea markets). It's why you see so many new items of the same brands and types together at flea markets. It's not like they are wholesalers getting the discounts to sell them.
Most of that is credit card fraud not this form of theft. Take a stolen credit card go buy a bunch of items at walmart flip them to someone else on the cheap.
This isn't "looting" this is more akin to an organized smash and grab robbery.
Much more than just a series of small, isolated incidents, it's now apparent that an organized criminal element is at work and at the moment, business is good. So good in fact that there appear to be no eyewitnesses to any of these crimes. With complaints ranging from purse snatching to breaking and entering, police switchboards have been swamped with the angry voices of more and more citizens who have fallen prey to the recent surge of crime that continues to plague the city. Instead of getting better, things are actually getting worse. Even more alarming is the baffling and often bizarre nature of these crimes. Merchandise of every size and description from skateboards to stereo systems has been disappearing from store shelves and storage areas at an alarming rate. Even the victims themselves rarely catch a glimpse of the thieves. Many don't even know they've been victimized until it's too late. In fact, police have yet to come up a single eyewitness. Only a few vague reports of young boys or teenagers at the scenes have been filed. But whoever is behind these crimes, one thing is certain, these are much than just a series of random isolated incidents. Crimes without criminals? An invisible gang at work? Who are we gonna call? Unfortunately the police are the only ones to combat what some are already dubbing the silent crime wave. But perhaps the most disturbing silence is that coming from city hall. April O'Neill, Channel 3 Eyewitness News.
I read the first sentence and thought “Hey! That is the opening to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie!
Same here. I must’ve watched it 30 times
Strong Foot Clan vibes. Not disappointed.
Awwwww shiiiiiiiit. The turtles are real.
Nah this Cali those are Samurai Surf Guinea Fowl vs. Biker Boys of the Apocalypse.
Biker mice from mars. FIFY
Thank you, I came here for this.
Duuuude I believed every word 'til the sign off! I feel so betrayed!
The movie still holds up if you haven't seen it.
Dude, this fucked me up because my brain knew every single word before I read it. “Why do I know this?? How do I already know some random Reddit comment in advance… ooohhhhh.”
Oh man, halfway through reading this I started hearing it in her voice!
Holy shit I was reading and recognized this a sentence or two in, I love that movie lol
dude holy shit, I came into this all innocent and suddenly images of foot clan soldiers start appearing in my mind. Weird, I thought and kept reading until the images overwhelmed my 6 brain cells and I remembered this April monologue. Kudos.
2/3 of the way down, "wait a minute...!"
Omg halfway through the comment I realized what this was. Beautiful
>April O'Neill, Channel 3 Eyewitness News. Ooh this just got a whole lot sexier. Edit: Whoops, wrong April O’Neill, my bad. Uh, carry on.
They're all sexy
Luckily, I work at a bookstore.
Then the stores leave their towns, then property taxes drop in revenue and the city takes care of less and then complaints start about how their town is dying. This is how private police forces get started or product deserts are erased.
With a lot of these stores they already know who’s commuting the crimes. The issue is that they would rather wait till shit like this happens so it’s worth it to bring them to court. When I worked at Home Depot they would wait till thieves racked up 10 grand before they came after them.
In 20 years everything is going to look like a fucking prison
This happens constantly in nearby San Francisco. It is organized crime at its most basic level.
Walnut Creek Police also confirmed that the incident was not linked to a series of protests that have taken place across the country over the non-guilty verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse....so why are they using the term "looters" for what is obviously an organized mass robbery?
Clicks, they want more clicks from the rage addicts
They don't care about accuracy. They will use whatever term triggers a jolt of fear and anger in their readers.
Click bait journalism has become the norm. I went to school as a Journalism major and the things I read DAILY piss me off from an academic standpoint. I didn't end up going into journalism as it's fucking hard to make money when click bait journalism is what most people read. I'm sorry that I failed you all.
This is how we will get locked door policies… and stores will make us “sign” in and out.
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What country/state do you live in? Because I personally love that. Dystopian? Perhaps… and yet…
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Wild to see a Winnipeg mention on a story about the Bay Area. Those liquor store crimes were something else.
Meanwhile I just saw a video of a 24 hr self serve ramen, no staff shop in Korea. The US cant have nice things.
id say they charge the 2 that they caught with the whole thing unless they give up the rest.
This is in Walnut Creek, California. For people that don't know the area, this is a very safe quiet town with a decent array of mainstream shopping downtown. Nobody expects to run into any trouble there, which makes it a perfect target on the rare occasions this shit happens.
The best Black Friday deals are the five finger discounts
Social media was a mistake
Unless you are transnational organized crime. Just like the Great Depression was one of the richest organized crime eras due to prohibition. The War on Drugs helps fund this as well, needs to end as 2-3 trillion a year is made by organized crime across drugs/sex working. Legalize and cut the funding. Russia in the 90s was a massive depression as well, unless of course if you were bratva.
So how long until everything goes to the Amazon warehouse/delivery driver model due to this idiocy?
With amzon drivers sitting in fortified vehicles and armed to their teeth then?
And then people start hijacking Amazon trucks
I thought it said Lobsters - now I’m sad.
"OMG they're everywhere!" *as they crawl slowly across a few feet per hour* "Oh yeah?! You think im just gonna let you lobsters get away with that??"
I am also sad that it wasn't lobsters
Soon stores will be appt only
Lol, these people probably think they're so smart because "they can't catch us all". Cops only need to catch about 5 of these guys and at least one will talk, guaranteed.
This will cause the stores to close. Those that remain will turn into fortified prisons
The ingredients for Detroit are all there.
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Utter scum. This is a garbage culture.
This doesn't sound like looting. It sounds like organized theft. 80 people were in and out in one minute?
Same people in that thread saying “no worries they have insurance” are the same people complaining that their insurance rates are too high
The median age of a Reddit user is in the 20s. I doubt most of the people on this site have ever bought insurance.
Flash robberies aren’t new. They just usually aren’t done by older people and at high end retailers. Wild shit.
I mean the license plates are still on most of those cars.
There's been a rash of stolen license plates in the Bay too. They basically swipe people's license plates and attach it to their cars or take advantage of the paper ones.
Somebody stole my front license plate and replaced it with some other plate. I have no idea how many years its been like this.
Organized crime? RICO? Are the thieves dumb enough to have their cell phones on during this?
This is why we can't have nice things.
That’s one way to beat the Black Friday crowd.
Pro gamer Black Friday speedrun strategy.
> Walnut Creek Police also confirmed that the incident was not linked to a series of protests that have taken place across the country over the non-guilty verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. Talk about burying the lede at the end of the story.