WSS Stores in South LA Targeted by Teen Flash Mobs
WSS shoe and athletic wear stores across the greater Los Angeles area have become a hot target for a teenage crime crew.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Organized Retail Crime Task Force (ORCTF) is working to identify a group of 10 to 20 youths who have burglarized a number of the chain’s locations—including a store on S. Central Avenue in South L.A. that was hit five times since early March.
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At least nine incidents have been reported at WSS stores in L.A. neighborhoods like South Gate and Boyle Heights since March, with WSS estimating damages of around $40,000 in total.
According to LAPD, the suspects typically enter the stores in the evening hours clad in hoodies and face coverings. “The suspects rapidly enter the locations, remove clothing and other merchandise, and flee without paying for the merchandise,” it said in a statement.
“In each incident the suspects have been observed fleeing on bicycles. The suspects have used force and displayed a lack of regard for the safety of witnesses and victims,” LAPD added.
WSS security footage released to the media shows store employees struggling to stop the thieves from leaving with stolen merchandise. Several of the incidents have resulted in thieves getting physical with store employees or witnesses, with security footage showing the suspects throwing items and pushing people to get out of the store with their loot.
LAPD said the suspects appear to be between the ages of 15-25 years old.
“We are deeply troubled by these events and are working closely with the LAPD ORC Taskforce to bring these individuals to justice,” WSS said in a statement obtained by KTLA. “We urge anyone with information about these crimes or the suspects involved to come forward and assist the LAPD in their investigations.”
“Community involvement is crucial in safeguarding our neighborhoods and business districts against such disruptive and criminal behavior,” the statement said.
LAPD Lieutenant Michael McComas told Sourcing Journal that the ORCTF received its first report from a WSS store around March 3. “With a group of kids on bicycles, especially that large, it wasn’t much effort for us to figure out that this is the same crew running around hitting these different stores,” he said, noting that the close proximity of the retail locations was also a clue that the crimes were related.
According to McComas, two of the suspects were turned in by their parents last week at the 77th Division Police Station. Through those interactions police learned that the group of teens hails from Downey, a city in Southeast L.A. County. The suspects didn’t need to travel far to hit a handful of WSS stores, which are peppered across L.A. County with a high concentration in Southern L.A.
McComas said WSS was likely targeted for its specific merchandise, which includes apparel and footwear from top name brands like Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, Converse and Jordan Brand. The thieves gravitated to “anything that was on a rack, that they could just wrap their arms around and grab a bunch of,” the Lieutenant said. “Sweatshirts, sweatpants—there were some that did take shoes as well, but it was mainly clothing.”
“Typically, in most of our previous cases, it would be a fence or selling these things to somebody else,” he said of the crew’s likely motivation for the thefts. “We don’t generally see a lot of people that are doing this for their own use or to keep the things for themselves.”
LAPD is particularly concerned about the safety of store employees and customers during incidents like flash mobs and smash-and-grabs, McComas said. “There were a couple incidents where the suspects were trying to leave and employees tried to prevent them from leaving with product,” he added. “They basically pushed them, knocked them out of the way or they got into a tug-of-war; I wouldn’t call it violent crime per se, but we don’t want that to escalate, so we want to get this solved as soon as possible.”
Law enforcement “would never advise anybody to go hands-on or physically try to prevent them from taking things” as a matter of personal safety, he said. “However, what they can do, and something that more and more retailers are starting to do, is utilize very good camera systems that capture excellent photographs of these people who are committing these crimes,” he added. “That’s helping us a lot, timely reporting. If they have an incident occur today, they need to report it today.”
McComas told Sourcing Journal that LAPD’s ORCTF is pursuing several leads in the WSS case generated by community tips and other sources. “The community is working with us, and the community supports what we’re trying to do by trying to end this retail crime plague that’s affecting everybody,” he added.
