Three charged in Bay Area retail burglary spree, Louis Vuitton smash-and-grab

(CN) — Three people were charged for a two-month organized retail burglary spree in Northern California last year that included a stolen Land Rover smashing through a Louis Vuitton store window in Walnut Creek where as many as 15 individuals ransacked the store.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the charges Wednesday as part of a joint effort by local law enforcement and the FBI to combat the frequently brazen, organized retail theft rings across the country that target high-end designer stores as well as more mundane businesses.

“Crimes as coordinated and organized as they were here deserve an equally coordinated and organized response by law enforcement,” Bonta said at a press conference. “We need to work together to be successful.”

The three suspects, who have been arraigned in Contra Costa County Superior Court, face close to 50 felony counts, including organized retail theft, second-degree burglary, grand theft and vandalism.

They are accused of being involved in 25 burglaries and attempted Bay Area burglaries from Sept. 8 to Nov. 14, 2023, which predominantly hit liquor stores and smoke shops, but also a few high-end retail stores. The businesses lost more than $650,000, according to the attorney general.

The suspects broke through security doors and gates in the middle of the night while wearing dark clothing, masks, hoods, and gloves, Bonta said, and filled garbage bags with cigarette cartons, alcohol, and cash. They also stole two ATM machines, from an open Chevron gas station and from a closed smoke shop.

“We are not talking about one-off shoplifting incidents here,” Bonta said. “These weren’t one-off smash and grabs at your local big box store.”

In the early morning hours of Oct. 3, 2023, the suspects crashed a stolen Land Rover through the front window of the Louis Vuitton store in Walnut Creek, after which about a dozen accomplishes rushed in and grabbed more than $250,000 worth of mostly handbags, Bonta said.

And in early November, the suspects took a detour to San Diego and were allegedly part of a group of six to eight people who stole $120,000 worth of Channel purses from a Nordstrom store during business hours. Two of the suspects were arrested after they had burglarized a smoke shop in Vallejo in Northern California on Nov. 14.

According to a 2020 national survey, U.S. retailers lose about $700,000 for every $1 billion in sales to organized retail crime.

“People are worried about their businesses, scared for their families,” Bonta said. “Which is exactly why organized retail crime is a top priority for our California DOJ.”

Last year, California officials arrested and charged eight people involved in organized retail theft ring that targeted Apple stores, Bonta said. Four were charged with stealing about $1 million worth of merchandise from cargo trucks leaving a Microsoft shipping facility.

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