Nearly $40K Stolen From Target By SoCal's Grab-And-Go Burglar: Police

IRVINE, CA — Police are seeking the public’s help to identify a prolific Southern California burglar.

The man has stolen an estimated $39,000 worth of items from Target stores throughout the region, Irvine police said Friday in a social media post.

“In the most recent cases, the suspect has run out of stores with iPads,” according to police.

Surveillance footage shared by police shows the man approaching a Target employee, grabbing what appears to be an iPad out of the worker’s hands and sprinting away while the employee gives chase.

Another video, posted to social media by Irvine police in October, shows a similar interaction in which an employee brings a man at least one iPad and the man grabs what appear to be two boxes before running out of the store with an iPad. Clips from the same surveillance compilation show the man taking items off store shelves and bringing them to the return counter for a fraudulent return.

Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to email mricci@cityofirvine.org.