Looters spread from Bay Area to LA with at least 20 people raiding Nordstrom ...

Looters spread from Bay Area to LA with at least 20 people raiding Nordstrom ...
Looters spread from Bay Area to LA with at least 20 people raiding Nordstrom ...

California's looting problem seems to have spread from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, with at least 20 people raiding a Nordstrom store in a 'smash and grab' incident on Monday night, as others targeted a CVS. 

Police say they first received reports about a break-in at the Nordstrom store at The Grove retail complex in the City of Angels at around 10.40pm.

They told CBS Los Angeles that the suspects apparently used a sledgehammer to smash the storefront windows before they fled in at least four vehicles. The store was closed to customers at the time.

The police pursued one of the fleeing vehicles onto the 110 Freeway, then onto Hoover Street in South Los Angeles at around 11.06pm before the occupants tried to run.

Police chased the suspects in the area, ABC7 reports, and three were arrested. Footage obtained by the affiliate showed officers pulling clothes with the tags still on them and cash register boxes from the car.

The value of the thieves' goods remains unclear as of Tuesday morning. A barricade was set up around The Grove, where glass could still be seen on the ground.

Los Angeles police say at least 20 people used sledgehammers to break the glass at a Nordstrom on Monday night and ransack its shelves before fleeing

Police were able to pursue one of the getaway cars, which had fled onto the 110 Freeway

Police were able to pursue one of the getaway cars, which had fled onto the 110 Freeway

They were able to retrieve clothes with the tags still on them and cash register boxes from the car

They were able to retrieve clothes with the tags still on them and cash register boxes from the car 

Police also found face masks and gloves inside the vehicle

Police also found face masks and gloves inside the vehicle 

Monday's brazen thefts in Los Angeles come after three consecutive days of organized shoplifting in the Bay Area

Monday's brazen thefts in Los Angeles come after three consecutive days of organized shoplifting in the Bay Area

And just about an hour before the Nordstrom was hit, CBS Los Angeles reports, a CVS in the city was hit by six burglars who stole about $8,500 in cash. Detectives are now working to determine whether any of the suspects in that incident were also involved in the Nordstrom smash and grab.

On Saturday, a Louis Vuitton Store and Saks Fifth Avenue on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills were also struck by a gang of smash and grab burglars. 

Police say they also appeared to use a sledgehammer to break the store windows, but the store has reinforced glass panes, and the would-be thieves were not able to get in. They now remain at large, with Beverly Hills city officials vowing to hire two private security companies to boost patrols at the stores.

'This used to be the safest city in the west, but it's not anymore,' one shopper Salvano Fino, told CBS Los Angeles. 'Anybody can come and just take, and it's just getting very easy for them.' 

The incidents come after three straight days of widespread looting in the San Francisco Bay Area, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom vowing on Monday to get tough with organized gangs of thieves, despite a 2014 law that barred prosecutors from charging people suspected of shoplifting with felonies.

After Proposition 47 was approved by voters, anyone caught shoplifting items whose value does not exceed $950 would be charged with misdemeanors. 

Critics said that the measure has encouraged the rampant organized retail theft, with gangs of thieves filmed smashing glass cases at a jewelry store and snatching garments from upmarket yoga clothing brand Lululemon on Sunday, one day after others were filmed swarming into a drug store and stealing prescriptions.

Dramatic footage released on Monday showed a group of about 40 to 50 robbers wielding hammers to smash display cases at a Sam's Jewelers store at the Southland Mall in Hayward at around 5:30pm PST on Sunday evening. Shop workers could be seen 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.

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. 

HAYWARD: The group of about 40 to 50 teenage shoplifters made off with an unknown amount of jewelry and other items

HAYWARD: The group of about 40 to 50 teenage shoplifters made off with an unknown amount of jewelry and other items

Hayward police said they responded to the Southland Mall at around 5.30pm on Sunday, after receiving multiple calls from shoppers and employees about the shoplifting

Hayward police said they responded to the Southland Mall at around 5.30pm on Sunday, after receiving multiple calls from shoppers and employees about the shoplifting

HAYWARD: It is not known how much jewelry and other merchandise the thieves got away with

HAYWARD: It is not known how much jewelry and other merchandise the thieves got away with 

OAKLAND: Video posted to Twitter shows a swarm of robbers entering Wellspring Pharmacy in Oakland on Saturday and grabbing boxes of prescription drugs off the shelves

OAKLAND: Video posted to Twitter shows a swarm of robbers entering Wellspring Pharmacy in Oakland on Saturday and grabbing boxes of prescription drugs off the shelves

OAKLAND: 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

OAKLAND: 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 

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.'

WALNUT CREEK: On Saturday, a group of about eighty looters ransacked a Nordstrom store

WALNUT CREEK: On Saturday, a group of about eighty looters ransacked a Nordstrom store

WALNUT CREEK: The incident took less than a minute before the suspects got back in their car and fled the scene

WALNUT CREEK: The incident took less than a minute before the suspects got back in their car and fled the scene

WALNUT CREEK: Police were able to arrest three people in the Nordstrom theft on Saturday night

WALNUT CREEK: Police were able to arrest three people in the Nordstrom theft on Saturday night

On Friday, the Louis Vuitton store in San Francisco's Union Square was also targeted and ransacked by a group of more than a dozen thieves.

Police responded to the store shortly after 8pm Friday where they 'observed several suspects involved in criminal acts.' 

California's Proposition 47 - lighter sentences for thieves

Proposition 47 was passed by California voters on November 5, 2014.

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