Newsom promises to get tough with gangs ransacking stores across the Bay Area

California Governor Gavin Newsom vowed on Monday to get tough with organized gangs of thieves who have ransacked and looted luxury retail stores in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, said he had 'no sympathy or empathy' for those involved in the  brazen thefts, which were caught on camera. 

The video clips went viral on social media, causing embarrassment for local officials in the Bay Area who have struggled to get a grip on the problem.

In 2014, California enacted Proposition 47, a voter-approved ballot measure that barred prosecutors from charging people suspected of certain offenses with felonies, including shoplifting, grand theft, and receiving stolen property. 

That meant anyone caught shoplifting items whose value does not exceed $950 would be charged with misdemeanors. Previously, such crimes could be charged as felonies.  

Critics said that the measure has encouraged the rampant organized retail theft. 

This past summer, Newsom signed a law aimed at curbing organized retail theft.

The law reestablishes the crime of organized retail theft, which lawmakers first created in 2018 but allowed to lapse as of July 1. 

Prosecutors can again seek to charge the crime as either a misdemeanor or a felony. 

It applies to those who work with others to steal merchandise either from brick-and-mortar stores or online, with the intent to sell or return the merchandise. 

The legislation also applies to someone who works with others to receive stolen merchandise, those who steal for others as part of an organized theft ring or people who do the recruiting or organizing for the theft ring. 

The governor on Monday pledged to provide 'exponential level of support' in the next state budget to help cities combat retail theft rings.

'We want people prosecuted and we want people to feel safe,' Newsom said during an appearance at a Bay Area vaccine clinic, where he was promoting booster shots.

'They must be held to account.'

Newsom said his office met with retailers over the weekend who asked for more police patrols.

'You will see substantially more starting today, in and around areas that are highly trafficked and coming into the holiday season Black Friday in shopping malls,' he told reporters.

Newsom made the comments as San Francisco was hit by a third day of brazen looting, with a gang of thieves filmed smashing glass cases at a jewelry store and emptying them as staff screamed in terror. 

The latest incident happened at a Sam's Jewelers store at the Southland Mall in Hayward around 5:30pm PST  on Sunday evening, and was caught on camera. 

Robbers - said to have been part of a gang of around 40 to 50 teens who entered the mall - wielded hammers to smash display cases at Sam's, before making off with goods. Dramatic footage shot from a nearby store showed shop workers screaming with fear as the disturbing scene unfolded. 

Also on Sunday, another gang of looters snatched garments from upmarket yoga clothing brand Lululemon's San Jose store, KPIX reported.

And on Saturday, video posted to Twitter a swarm of robbers was caught on security camera stealing prescriptions from Wellspring Pharmacy in Oakland at around 7.30pm.

Pharmacy employees sped up the footage to show dozens of people running through the store to grab boxes of drugs off the shelves before quickly moving out. It is unclear what drugs were stolen, but staff say customers' whose meds were stolen will be able to collect replacement meds that have been ordered in. 

Store employees told KGO-TV reporter Dion Lim they were 'overwhelmed and devastated' by the brazen theft, as it is a small drug store and does not have the same resources as chains like CVS or Walgreens.

Video of the Sam's incident, meanwhile, shows the men, all of whom were wearing hoodies, smashing the cases and running off with handfuls of jewelry, with one man even running back to grab an item he dropped before fleeing.

People inside the store screamed and ran away from the horrifying scene, which has become common in the Bay Area since a California state law downgraded the theft of property less than $950 in value from a felony charge to a misdemeanor in 2014. 

Store staff and security now tend not to pursue or stop thieves who have taken anything worth less than $1,000. 

Sources say the Macy's at the Southland Mall was also attacked on Sunday, with two women who work near Sam's Jewelers telling KPIX that the teens also ran into another store and left with clothes and shoes.

'We saw all the other stores closing,' said one of the women, whom KPIX did not name. 'They were panicking, so we were panicking and quickly closed our store and barricaded ourselves.'

'It was very scary,' said the other woman, who also was not named. She described the brazen thieves as 'people with no morals, no sense for other people's safety.

'I feel helpless,' the woman said. 'It's disturbing.'

Police could not say how much jewelry was taken from the store or the volume of merchandise other stores in the mall lost. No arrests had been made as of Monday morning.

Just about an hour later, in San Jose, a group of suspects entered a Lululemon store in the outdoor mall at Santana Row and took an unknown amount of merchandise before they fled the scene. No other information about the incident has been reported.

These thefts occurred as police in nearby Walnut Creek, about 25 miles from San Francisco, warned that there could be a repeat of the stealing spree that community saw the night before.

'The Walnut Creek PD is actively monitoring intelligence that indicates the group of thieves who stole from the Broadway Plaza Nordstrom last night are considering similar activity later today,' the Walnut Creek Police Department tweeted Sunday night.

'This has not been confirmed, but out of an abundance of caution, we're alerting businesses and residents to be prepared ... some stores may consider closing early or taking other precautions.

'There is no specific time or target known right now,' the police department noted.

Eighty looters ransacked a Nordstrom store in the area on Saturday night, injuring at least three employees in a raid that lasted less than a minute. 

The large group, wearing ski masks and carrying crowbars, rushed the Walnut Creek store, stole an undetermined amount of merchandise and fled in their vehicles. 

 During the theft, two Nordstrom workers were punched and kicked, while another was sprayed with pepper spray. All three individuals were treated for their injuries on scene.

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. 

Officials have declared the robbery was 'organized retail theft.'