SFPD Recovers $17K Cache of Stolen Lululemon, Victoria’s Secret Merch
As the wave of organized retail crime continues to plague stores, two outlets in San Francisco have recovered more than $17,880 worth of stolen merchandise. The San Francisco Police Department recovered the goods reportedly stolen from Victoria’s Secret and Lululemon in a suspected fencing operation in the city’s Mission District.
Three suspects were arrested in connection with the thefts: Deysi Ramirez, 59, of San Francisco; Veronica Lumbreras Villanueva, 40, of Daly City, California; and Marvin Dick Godoy Calderon, 43, of San Francisco. Recovered items still had security tags and other antitheft devices attached.
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Fencing operations refer to the sale of stolen property. A “fence” is a person who knowingly buys stolen goods to resell for profit.
Retailers in Nashville weren’t quite as lucky. High-end stores such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Nordstrom in the city’s Green Hills mall have been targeted three times in as many weeks. Last month, a mall security guard tackled 43-year-old Michael Parrish, who was suspected of helping steal thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise from the Louis Vuitton store. Four additional suspects have yet to be apprehended. During the mall’s Gucci heist, suspects pepper sprayed the store, causing more than $50,000 worth of damage to merchandise.
According to a report from the National Retail Federation, shrink accounted for $112.1 billion in losses for retailers in 2022, up from $93.9 billion in 2021. The top five cities impacted by organized retail crime over the past year were Los Angeles, San Francisco/Oakland, Houston, New York and Seattle. And the NRF found that 28 percent of retailers felt forced to close locations, while 45 percent have reduced operating hours due to retail crime.
Last month, Target announced it would close nine stores in New York City, Seattle, Portland, Ore., and the San Francisco Bay Area due to retail crime. American Eagle Outfitters closed a store in the Northlake Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina, earlier this year due to “an atmosphere reminiscent of a war zone,” drawing a lawsuit from the mall’s owner last month for breaking its lease. American Eagle also filed a lawsuit last month against the owners of San Francisco’s Westfield Centre, alleging real estate firm Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has neglected the increase in crime at the mall.
In California, legislators and law enforcement have joined forces in an attempt to rein in organized retail crime. In August, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass instituted the L.A. Organized Retail Crime Task Force, while California Governor Gavin Newsom instructed the California Highway Patrol to triple its retail crime-fighting resources and pledged $267 million in funding to 55 local law enforcement agencies.
Some of that money seems to have started to make a difference. Just last week, Irvine, California, police arrested four suspects after a $3,000 “grab-and-run” theft at a Nike store in Carlsbad, south of Los Angeles. Police said the four suspects—Kristen Jamie Himbarger, 19, China Celeste Morris, 24, Anaiya Syrai Cole, 19, and an unidentified 14-year-old female —were also linked to similar robberies at Nike stores in Irvine and San Clemente, totaling $11,000.
