A raid of eighty looters broke into a Nordstrom shop in California’s Bay Area, wounding at least three people in less than one minute.
A large group of men, wearing ski masks and carrying crowbars ran to Walnut Creek and stole undetermined quantities of merchandise before fleeing in their cars.
Two Nordstrom workers received punched, kicked, and pepper spray treatment during the theft. They were all treated on the spot for injuries.
Walnut Creek police have arrested three people in connection to the incident and they are facing various charges including robbery, conspiracy, burglary, possession of stolen property and a weapons charge.
This brazen theft comes after a series of shoplifting cases has caused Bay Area businesses to cut their hours. Locals are also slamming woke San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin over his failure to prosecute thefts.
San Francisco has also seen an uptick in property theft since a local law downgraded the theft of property less than $950 in value from a felony charge to a misdemeanor in 2014. The staff at stores and security are less inclined to stop or pursue thieves who take property valued below $1,000.
On Saturday, eighty thieves ransacked the Nordstrom store located in California’s Bay Area. At least three workers were injured in the raid which lasted just a minute.
A large group of people, wearing ski masks and carrying long crowbars, ran into Walnut Creek and stole undetermined amounts of merchandise before fleeing in their cars.
Walnut Creek officers received information that about 80 persons had broken into Nordstrom’s store. They called for dozens of officers to respond.
Jodi Hernandez (NBC Bay Area reporter) shared multiple videos from the raid on Twitter.
According to her, approximately 25 vehicles blocked the road as the thieves stormed into the shop with weapons in hand.
This video shows looters dragging bags and boxes containing presumed stolen goods down the street before getting into their escape cars.
Brett Barrett who works nearby at the P.F., said that there was “a mob of people.” Chang said that Chang’s restaurant was responsible. “The police flew in. The scene was almost like something out of a film. It was unbelievable.
The gang of thieves overtook the store by blocking off approximately 25 vehicles
The video depicts an officer waving their gun at what appears like a car containing suspected looters
While most raiders were able to escape, at least two suspects were arrested by police. These suspects face a variety of charges, including conspiracy, burglary or robbery. They also have to be charged with possession and theft of property.
He continued: ‘I had to start locking the front door. The back door should be locked. They could be right there. It was crazy…All the guests inside were getting concerned. For a brief moment, it was quite scary.
While most raiders were able to escape, at least two looters were arrested by police. One officer can be seen pointing his gun at the driver in video.
Walnut Creek Lieutenant Ryan Hibbs stated that his officers pulled over one car, found stolen goods and took the owner and the occupants into custody.
This man was arrested. Theft, theft, conspiracy, burglary, and possession/use of burglary tools are all possible.
This woman was taken into custody for illegal possession of a gun.
A man fled by foot was also taken into police custody. The charges against him included robbery as well as possession of stolen property and conspiracy to commit theft. He also was accused of possessing burglary tools.
Officers arrest a looter in video
Witnesses describe the scene as crazy and bizarre, and they compare it to a film.
The Walnut Creek Nordstrom’s incident, as seen in this photo by police, isn’t connected with the string of riots over the weekend following the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict
Walnut Creek stated to NBC that the incident was not connected with the nationwide demonstrations against Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal. Rittenhouse was being tried after he injured two people in Kenosha (Wisconsin) and killed two others in Kenosha.
The protests have erupted in several major cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland.
Although most have appeared to be mainly peaceful demonstrations with marching and chanting, law enforcement in Portland declared a riot Friday night as about 200 protesters were breaking windows, throwing objects at police and talking about burning down a local government building.
Saturday’s looting comes after the Louis Vuitton store in San Francisco’s Union Square was targeted and ransacked by a group of more than a dozen thieves.
Shortly after 8pm, police responded to the scene.Observed several suspects in crimes.
Video was captured by witnesses You can see masked thieves running around the streets, their hands full with bags and clothes.
The officers chased a suspect to their getaway vehicle and banged on windows with batons. They then threw the criminal out and restrained him/her on the sidewalk.
Footage shows the decimated Louis Vuitton storefront with shattered glass all over the sidewalk and totally empty shelves (left) as masked thieves running through the streets with their hands full of clothing items and bags (right)
Eyewitnesses reported that more than 12 thieves stole the glass from a San Francisco Louis Vuitton shop.
Officers from law enforcement are seen following a suspect to their getaway vehicle and smashing the windows with batons. They then drag the criminal out of the car, and restrain them on the sidewalk.
Footage showed the demolished storefront, with broken glass everywhere and completely empty shelves.
The police confirmed that they have arrested several suspects, so it is possible that Louis Vuitton was not the only victim.
Last week, San Francisco’s ‘woke’ District Attorney Chesa Boudin – who will face a recall election next year amid fury over his soft-on-crime policies – finally charged a ‘prolific’ female shoplifter, 41, who stole $40,000 in merchandise from the same Target in 120 incidents over a one-year period.
Aziza Graves, a shoplifter accused of plundering her home after Boudin was forced to resign two weeks ago by voters. A petition garnering 83,000 signatures made it possible for the citizens to force Boudin into recall elections. This petition far exceeded the requirement of 51,000.
Target required that Boudin conduct an investigation into Graves’ actions. This revealed that Graves was at Stonestown Galleria in Stonestown, and had been hit more than 100 times from October 2020 to November 2021.
The push to arrest Aziza Graves, the ‘prolific’ shoplifter, only came after a request to the district attorney’s office by the Target being looted, at the Stonestown Galleria shopping mall
Graves made it appear that she was purchasing merchandise by using self-checkout kiosks. The machine would scan her items and she would submit cash payments up to $1. Sometimes, even one cent.
Graves made it appear that she was purchasing merchandise by using self-checkout kiosks. Graves would then scam the machine and scan her items while submitting $1 cash payment, sometimes as little as one cent.
Officials said that she would then walk out of the shop without having completed the remainder of her transactions. Boudin claimed that Graves stole laundry detergent and other home goods that were often stolen, which she then resold to make a profit. The looted store is just a few blocks away.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Boudin stated that he was proud of his office’s leadership and meticulous investigations, as well as cross-agency coordination, Thursday. “We will stop those involved in organized retail theft. We’ll also dismantle the fence networks that enable this crime to be profitable.
Although Graves is being charged in eight of the cases with a felony, it is not clear how much she stole. She is also facing 120 misdemeanor charges for petty theft. In San Francisco, property theft of less than $950 was reduced from a crime to a misdemeanor.
Police have reported that there has been a surge in thefts around the San Francisco Bay Area.
On October 31st, 810 attempted or actual burglaries were reported to San Francisco Police. This is a 13.5% increase over last year.
Walgreens already shut down 17 of its 70 San Francisco store because of shoplifting. A viral video of a man filling up a bag of goods and being watched by security officers led to one of these stores closing.
The surge in shoplifting arose after a local law downgraded the theft of property less than $950 in value from a felony charge to a misdemeanor in 2014
Because of an uptick of property theft, many businesses have been forced to reduce their hours or close entirely. Boudin was criticized by locals as ‘destroying our city’.
Safeway’s grocery store was the latest victim of shoplifting. The announcement last week stated that it had reduced its 24-hour service from 6am to 9pm to reflect this fact.
Walgreens in San Francisco has closed 17 stores due to theft by shoplifters who pass security guards and steal the goods from the doors.
Boudin is facing recall after his March petition received more than 83,000 signatures. That’s far beyond the 51,000 required for an electoral campaign.
Boudin has been blamed by many locals in the liberal City by Bay for spiraling crime statistics, and shocking anecdotal evidence pointing to serious and sometimes preventable crime that he supervised.
Boudin has charged people with theft only in 46% percent of cases. Similar to his predecessor George Gascon, Boudin’s office has been able to charge people of theft in 46% and 62% respectively in 2018, according city data.
Boudin’s petty crime rate is even lower than Gascon’s, with only 35% of cases being charged against him.
Boudin has also been convicted of far fewer of these offenses than Gascon. It only convicts thieves for 79% thefts and 62% for petty steals. Gascon boasts an 82% theft conviction rate and 77% petty steal conviction rates.
In total, Boudin charged individuals with criminal acts in 48% of reported cases. Gascon, however, has an overall charging rate of 54%.
Boudin saw two increases in his charges rates, namely rape as well as narcotics. Boudin also made a promise to continue to prosecute alleged rape- and narcotics victims, regardless of whether he wins the case.
San Francisco’s crime rate has been steadily rising, with the theft of larceny outweighing all others.
According to new data, Boudin charged people for theft in less that 50% of the cases he handled during his tenure.
Gascon has convicted far fewer people for both of these crimes. He only convicted thieves in 79% thefts, and 62% in petty thefts.
His 63% charge of rape has been reported against Gascon, who only 53%. Boudin also has charges of 60% for narcotics related arrests, compared with Gascon’s 47%.
These cases are less successful than Gascon’s, with Boudin only convicting 70% of the rapists he has charged. Boudin has convicted only 62%, while Gascon has convicted 75%.
Boudin believed that his charges dropped because of the pandemic. He also cited the COVID-19 restrictions which reduced San Francisco’s operation.