Alameda County Prosecutor Takes Aim At Organized Retail Thefts

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — Alameda County District Attorney Nancy E. O'Malley was looking to crack down on organized retail theft after a string of incidents across the Bay Area and California.

District attorney's offices in Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Joaquin and San Mateo counties planned to work together to share data, crime analytics and investigative resources to prosecute people believed to be linked to organized retail theft schemes, they announced Tuesday.

They also vowed to continue to work with retailers and lawmakers on the enforceability of laws aimed at organized theft rings.

“The recent acts of retail thefts, robberies and mass-mob burglaries throughout Northern California will not be tolerated,” O’Malley said in a statement. “These are clearly carefully orchestrated crimes, working together in large groups to create a mob-like mentality. They are instilling fear in merchants, customers and the wider community."

Gov. Gavin Newsom directed California Highway Patrol officers to ramp up their presence at heavily trafficked malls and major retailers after significant thefts in San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and Walnut Creek over the weekend.

In Walnut Creek, about 80 masked thieves stole an estimated $200,000 worth of merchandise from a Nordstrom store that was previously robbed last summer. Employees were assaulted and pepper-sprayed, police said.

The thefts were believed to be part of sophisticated criminal networks that recruit mainly young people to steal merchandise in stores throughout the country and then sell it in online marketplaces. The thefts ratcheted up as the holiday shopping season got underway, experts and law enforcement officials said.

"We want real accountability," Newsom said Monday at a briefing in San Francisco. "We want people prosecuted, and we want people to feel safe this holiday season."

Newsom planned to include a funding increase in his 2022-23 state budget proposal for combating retail theft, he said.

The CHP has operated task forces to tackle organized retail crime in the Bay Area and in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties in partnership with mayors and law enforcement officials in recent months. Those task forces recovered $18.9 million in stolen merchandise and arrested 240 people in connection with retail theft.

"We are going to be more aggressive still in this space to help support cities and the prosecution of folks," Newsom said. "I have no sympathy, no empathy whatsoever for people smashing and grabbing, stealing people's items, creating havoc and terror on our streets. ... They must be held to account."

The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.