The Reason for Store Closures: Theft Outpacing Sales
In retail industry, theft is growing faster than sales
Shoplifting is an alarmingly common crime. The National Retail Federation estimates that retail shrink, which includes theft but also problems leading to inventory being lost or recorded inaccurately, was roughly $95 billion in 2021.

Dean Rosenblum, a senior retail analyst at Bernstein Research said, "Theft is growing faster than sales ... theft is becoming a big enough problem that it is starting to affect margins, which is why retailers are talking about it more frequently."

Because of theft, loss of revenue must be accounted for in retailers' budgets. When sales are low and shrink is increasing, it becomes unsustainable for businesses to keep their doors open. Retailers, on average, saw a 26.5% increase in organized retail crime incidents in 2021. Beyond theft of goods, eight in 10 retailers surveyed reported that violence and aggression associated with incidents increased in 2021.

Retailers are implementing many strategies to prevent stealing - hiring security guards, installing security cameras, locking up goods and investing in radio-frequency identification systems.

Some of the biggest cities in America are also the biggest hotbeds of shoplifting activity. The National Retail Federation's list of cities with the most organized retail crime are among America's most populated - Los Angeles, Oakland, New York, Houston, Miami, Chicago, Sacramento, Seattle, Atlanta, and Dallas/Fort Worth.

New York City's police have reported a dramatic increase in shoplifting. Researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice reported that the theft of items less than $1,000 has increased 53% since 2019 at major commercial locations.

Nordstrom recently announced that it will be closing all three of its San Francisco stores, citing the changing dynamics of the area that has not recovered since the pandemic, and the fact that the city has been in the spotlight for crime.

Nineteen retailers have left San Francisco's Union Square area since 2020 over concerns about employee and customer safety relating to shoplifting and other crimes. The closure is a blow to the city's retail sector and indicative of the challenges facing the retail industry. heraldtribune.com


Is DA Jenkins Backtracking on Walgreens Killing? Her 'Decision Based on 72-Hour Charging Deadline'
For a Democrat Jenkins is Acting More Like a Republican - Much to Soros's Chagrin

SF supe, prez call for state, federal probe of Banko Brown killing
San Francisco lawmakers are calling on state and federal officials to review evidence in last month's killing of Banko Brown after The City's top prosecutor decided not to file charges.

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin on Tuesday introduced a resolution that would call upon California Attorney General Rob Bonta or the U.S. Department of Justice to reexamine the case. The board will vote on the proposal on May 23.

"This is not who we are," Peskin said in a statement. "Stealing a bag of candy does not warrant the death penalty. I understand people are afraid of crime, a fear being stoked by too many politicians and their political allies.

Jenkins announced on May 1 that we should not file murder charges against Anthony. She later said, but did not initially say, that this was because of a 72-hour charging deadline following Anthony's arrest.

As calls from the public and politicians for her to reexamine that decision intensified, Jenkins said she couldn't release footage of Brown's death because the case was still under investigation. She said she would release footage if prosecutors didn't charge Anthony, which happened on Monday.

Jenkins' decision is her third in recent months in which she has dropped or declined to pursue charges against an armed officer or guard in an on-duty shooting.

Last week, Jenkins moved to dismiss charges against officer Christopher Flores for shooting and injuring an assault suspect. In February, she dismissed charges against Christopher Samayoa for shooting and killing a carjacking suspect in 2017. The family of Sean Moore, who died of wounds he sustained in a 2017 police shooting, has said they are worried Jenkins will drop charges against Kenneth Cha.

Jenkins said some of the aforementioned prosecutions were "politically motivated" under progressive predecessor Chesa Boudin, whose recall she championed last year.

John Burris, the civil rights attorney representing Banko Brown's family who says he is working on a wrongful death lawsuit, said of Jenkins' charging decisions. sfexaminer.com

 

The One Man Who Has Single Handily Changed Shoplifter Prosecutions
- Larceny Charges & Sentencing Nationwide

No Cash Bail - Declining Prosecutions of Low-Level Offenses - No Incarceration
for Non-Violent Crimes

Funding the Progressive DAs Behind U.S. Crime Surge

One candidate, one big-money donor, and one well-known agenda
There He Goes Again: Soros Seeks to Buy Pittsburgh DA Office
On another DA election front George Soros, the 'Funding King Pin' for the Progressive Movement, has pumped in over $759K into backing Pittsburgh's Progressive Democart DA Candidate.

George Soros is determined to turn Pittsburgh into another Philadelphia. The notorious progressive globalist billionaire hopes to purchase the district attorney's office in the second-largest city in the Keystone State, just as he bought the DA's seat in what was once quaintly considered The City of Brotherly Love in 2017.

"Soros is the sole contributor to an outside political group financing most of Democrat Matt Dugan's run for Allegheny County district attorney, a new financial filing shows,"

One Man Funding an Entire Campaign

"The Pennsylvania Justice and Public Safety PAC listed Mr. Soros as its only donor in a campaign finance report released [May 9]," the paper notes. An avalanche of cash is being funneled Dugan's way as he seeks to defeat incumbent DA Stephen Zappala in the May 16 Democrat primary. Zappala, who has held the post since 1998, is considered a thoroughly establishment candidate who will likely run as a Republican in the general election now that Dugan has won the primary.

This is the playbook Soros used when he placed radical DA Larry Krasner in charge of prosecutions in Philadelphia. The unfortunate city - that has long been plagued by runaway violent crime - got substantially worse.

"Convictions for violent crime have declined under Mr. Krasner, who lost over three quarters of his staff of 340 prosecutors in his first four-year term.

And Krasner was the main subject behind a PBS eight-part epic documentary "Philly D.A. Here's the reviews.

Soros Strings Are Barely Concealed Dugan is fully on board with the loaded and racially divisive "criminal justice" agenda promulgated by Soros. libertynation.com


Soros Funded Matt Dugan wins Democratic primary in Allegheny County District Attorney race over Stephen Zappala
Dugan's win means that, if elected in the November general election, he will have a chance to pursue an approach that will seek alternatives to cash bail and incarceration for non-violent, low-level offenders - policies that critics say lead to racial and economic inequities that are rife within the justice system.

The outcome of that race could mark the end of a quarter-century in which Zappala's name has become practically synonymous with law enforcement in western Pennsylvania. Zappala will now run as a Republican in November. wesa.fm


"Everywhere Soros-backed prosecutors go, crime follows"
How George Soros funded progressive 'legal arsonist' DAs behind US crime surge
For the last several years, billionaire philanthropist George Soros has been quietly financing a revolution in criminal justice reform, doling out tens of millions of dollars to progressive candidates in district attorney races throughout the country amid movements to abolish bail and defund the police.

Chicago's Kim Foxx was Soros' first success, contributing $300,000 to her first campaign in 2016, and another $2 million for her successful re-election run last month. Chicago, the country's third largest city, registered the highest number of homicides out of all the major city's, at 739, up three percent from the previous year.

Manhattan District Attorney-elect Alvin Bragg received $1 million from Soros in his election bid.

Soros' largesse have played an outsize role in some of the most controversial district attorney campaigns in the US, including George Gascon in Los Angeles as well as Larry Krasner in Philadelphia and Kim Foxx in Chicago, among others.

"George Soros has quietly orchestrated the dark money political equivalent of 'shock and awe,' on local attorney races through the country, shattering records, flipping races and essentially making a mockery of our entire campaign finance system,"

Critics say the policies of Soros-funded DAs, which have included abolishing bail and, in the case of Chicago, placing hundreds of violent criminals on electronic tracking systems, have led to a spike in crime throughout the country. nypost.com washingtonexaminer.com
 

"Abysmal" Clearance Rates - Eliminating ShotSpotter & Controversial Gang Database
New Chicago Mayor "more surveillance and more police are not making us safer."

Chicago mayor promises new approach to CPD, including adding police detectives

Mayor Brandon Johnson also said he will eliminate recent additions to the city's police landscape, including the ShotSpotter system

"We have to train and promote 200 more detectives so that we are actually solving crime," Johnson a guest on the Rev. Al Sharpton's weekend show on MSNBC on March 26, told Sharpton. "The clearance rate in the city of Chicago is absolutely abysmal, especially when it comes to Black and brown communities."

Between Jan 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2022 Chicago recorded 6,718 homicides and only cleared 2,956 killings, for a 44% clearance rate.

Trailing other large cities: Police in NYC had a homicide clearance rate of 78% last year, with 433 killings. LAPD reported a clearance rate of 76%, 382 homicides in 2022.

An end to ShotSpotter

The Police Department's use of ShotSpotter gunshot-detection technology has come under repeated scrutiny in recent years, and those criticisms were renewed earlier this month with the fatal shooting of off-duty Officer Aréanah Preston outside her home in the Avalon Park neighborhood.

Police officials have said an alert from ShotSpotter came in as soon as Preston was shot, but the first officer didn't arrive on the scene until about 30 minutes later, after Preston's Apple Watch signaled that she was involved in a car crash.

A 2021 report from the city's office of the inspector general, however, found that "CPD responses to ShotSpotter alerts can seldom be shown to lead to investigatory stops which might have investigative value and rarely produce evidence of a gun-related crime." In a statement issued last March, Johnson said, "We all want public safety. However, more surveillance and more police are not making us safer."

In addition to shelving ShotSpotter, he also has pledged to eliminate CPD's controversial gang database, which logs police contacts with alleged gang members and their associates. Many have criticized that compilation as flawed and skewed by race.

"The failures of the past have been repeated over and over. Meanwhile, carjackings, property theft and shootings are harming every neighborhood." his website reads. "It's time for a new approach." police1.com


Northern CA Sees Double-Digit Decreases in Police Officers Over Last 10 Years
San Jose: 3 ways to visualize budget shift for policing, homelessness
With America's 10th largest city set to vote next month on a $5.2B dollar budget, homelessness, crime, and soaring housing costs remain at the forefront.

Mayor Matt Mahan priorities: a shift from permanent housing to interim housing for the city's homeless residents and hiring more police staff (31) - proposals that the city's progressive activists and councilmembers are likely to protest.

Police remain the city's largest expenditure. Currently budgeted for 1,173 sworn positions, with 1,069 of those filled.

The search for police officers comes as departments across the Bay Area face issues with staffing, according to a February report by the Public Policy Institute of California. Between 2008 and 2021, San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland all experienced double-digit decreases in the number of patrol officers, researchers found.

Why more police? Mahan says response times are "unacceptably long."

Priority 1 Life Threatening Calls Goal within 6 minutes 70% of the time & Actual Only hits 50% of the time.

Priority 2 Crime in Progress Calls Goal within 11 minutes 70% of the time & Actual Only hits 37% of the time.

In other words; Robbers, Burglars, Rapist, Gangs have over 11 minutes 63% of the time to commit their crime, after police are contacted. And Murderers have over 6 minutes 50% of the time to kill their victims. mercurynews.com

Editor's Note: So, when it comes to store robberies and ORC gangs, they've got plenty of time. Just my thoughts. - Gus Downing


New Minnesota Legislation Tackles ORC
Gun control draws the spotlight as MN House passes public safety bill

An $880 million budget bill includes gun control provisions and a new crime of 'organized retail theft'

Members of the Minnesota House passed an $880 million public safety budget bill, which includes two gun control measures Democrats have sought for many years. The vote came shortly after midnight Tuesday morning.

The package will pay for the court system, state prisons, BCA crime labs, civil legal aid, community violence prevention efforts and many other priorities under the public safety umbrella.

The bill also creates a new crime of organized retail theft, to address those mass smash-and-grab events at stores that are planned and supported by criminal syndicates. It would also cover mass retail fraud done with stolen credit cards or actual credit lines from stolen identities. kare11.com


'I'm a Target employee - there's a sketchy behavior that lets me know people are stealing clothes whenever I see it'

Tacoma police chief to provide update on crime reduction plan

Watch What You're Claiming - Lawsuits & Stricter Rules Are Coming
Nike faces lawsuit over greenwashing claims
A Missouri plaintiff said that 90% of the products Nike advertises as using recycled materials don't, and that some of the recycled materials themselves are environmentally harmful.

The lawsuit cites the Federal Trade Commission's Green Guides, which educate companies on what could constitute deceptive advertising around sustainability claims. The guidance is limited, though, because it isn't a set of enforceable rules or regulations, according to John Conway, CEO of Astonish Media Group.

Ellis, who is asking the lawsuit to be certified as a federal and state class action, also said that of the 2,452 products Nike lists in its sustainability collection, "only 239 products are actually made with any recycled materials," or about 10%.

As awareness around the major environmental impact of plastics increases, similar lawsuits may become more common, and regulatory agencies may eventually seek to impose stricter rules.

"Your readers in the apparel industry need to watch this, and watch this closely," Conway said by phone. "If the courts determine that these recycled fibers - assuming the company's using them - are not sustainable materials, that throws out their entire sustainability argument, as long as they're using, essentially, polyester." retaildive.com


Consumers' Priorities Shift From COVID Binge Shopping to Socializing At Bars & Restaurants
From Locked Down & Isolated To Out And About With Family & Friends

Monthly retail sales from the US Commerce Department - Up 2.6% YOY, E-commerce up 6.4%
The lowest rate of growth since May 2020 - a month impacted by the disruption of the pandemic."

April apparel sales down 4.1% year over year, and department store sales down 1.7%.

Home goods sales fell 8.8%, electronics sales fell 8.2% and sporting goods fell 9.1%. General merchandise sales rose 4.1%

That in part reflects a shift in priorities "away from items such as electronics and furniture to spending at bars and restaurants." retaildive.com


Retail Sales Bounced Back in April
NRF Says Retail Sales Rose in April as Consumers 'Remained Engaged'
NRF's calculation of retail sales - which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants to focus on core retail - showed April was up 0.6% from March and up 2% unadjusted year over year. In March, sales were down 0.7% month over month but up 3.4% year over year. NRF's numbers were up 3.7% unadjusted year over year on a three-month moving average as of April.

• Online and other non-store sales were up 1.2% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 6.4% unadjusted year over year.

• Health and personal care stores were up 0.9% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 5.8% unadjusted year over year.

• General merchandise stores were up 0.9% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 4.1% unadjusted year over year.

• Grocery and beverage stores were down 0.2% month over month seasonally adjusted but up 2.9% unadjusted year over year.

• Clothing and clothing accessory stores were down 0.3% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 4.1% unadjusted year over year.

• Building materials and garden supply stores were up 0.5% month over month seasonally adjusted but down 5.7% unadjusted year over year.

• Electronics and appliance stores were down 0.5% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 8.2% unadjusted year over year.

• Furniture and home furnishings stores were down 0.7% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 8.8% unadjusted year over year.

• Sporting goods stores were down 3.3% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 9.1% unadjusted year over year. nrf.com


Nearly All Remote Companies Use Employee Monitoring Software
If You Feel You Are Being Watched At Work, You Probably Are

New survey shows 96% of companies are using employee monitoring software.

"It's clear from our survey that there are still organizations struggling to manage their workforce post-pandemic," comments Chief Career Advisor Staci Haller, in a statement. "The focus on hours worked versus actual productivity and the successful completion of timely projects seems to reflect the challenges management teams are facing when it comes to readjusting how they manage a remote workforce."

This confusion is causing employers to turn to monitoring. And employees know about this; only 5% say their employees are unaware they are being monitored. Just 10% of remote companies were monitoring employees pre-pandemic, while 37% started during the first year of the pandemic and 20% started monitoring within the past year.

Results? Companies love it -- 96% say it's paying off. Ninety-seven percent of respondents 'somewhat' (34%) or 'strongly' (63%) believe that implementing this software has increased employee productivity.

When asked to list the ways in which their company uses monitoring software, the most common answers were monitoring web browsing and application use (62%) and blocking content and applications (49%).

And some companies, 37% according to the survey, require remote employees to be on camera all day. Of this group, 93% say the live video feed is monitored, with the majority reporting that the person or people watching the feeds do so for 4 or more hours per day.

7 in 10 Say Employees Have Quit Over Monitoring

The other side of the increase in productivity is that companies are losing employees. In fact, 69% of companies say they've had employees quit because they didn't want to be monitored. Of this group, the largest percentage (35%) say the company has lost 6-10 workers over this issue.  ehstoday.com


'Most Loved' Retail Brands
Trader Joe's tops Yelp's 'most loved brands' list

Yelp has released its first-ever list honoring the 50 most loved brands on its platform, as determined by Yelp data.

Trader's Joe's took the top spot on Yelp's "Most Loved Brands" list, followed by specialty bakery Nothing Bundt Cakes and bubble tea outpost Kung Fu Tea. Rounding out the top five: the rapidly-scaling First Watch eatery, which specializes in breakfast and brunch, and hard-surface flooring retailer Floor & Decor.

Other retailers that made the list included Costco, World Market, Lululemon, Total Wine & More, Insomnia Cookies, Home Goods, Nike, Target, At Home, Marshalls, David's Bridal, Boot Barn, Nordstrom Rack and Michaels.

For retailers, Michaels (No.50) rang in as the most loved brand in five states, including Connecticut, Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico and South Dakota, closely followed by Home Goods (No. 22), which nabbed the top spot in four states, including Illinois, New Hampshire, Ohio and Oregon, and Marshalls, the top brand in Indiana, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Vermont. chainstoreage.com


NYC's Iconic Fashion Retailer, Century 21, Re-Opened Yesterday at its Flagship Location

Minnesota REI Workers Are Aiming to Become the Retailer's Next Unionized Store

BP completes $1.3 billion acquisition of TravelCenters of America


Quarterly Results

Home Depot Q1 comp's down 4.5%, U.S. comps down 4.6%, sales down 4.2%

Voted World's Leading Privacy Advisor by Computerworld magazine
Attorney Lisa Sotto of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Warns CISO's "to Take Heed"

What the Uber-Joe Sullivan Case Means for CISO Liability
Former chief security officer Joe Sullivan avoided jail time for his role in impeding a federal investigation into Uber's security practices, but attorney Lisa Sotto of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP warned security leaders and executives "to take heed" and ensure they are covered for personal liability.

The Sullivan sentence may have given CISOs a collective sigh of relief, but Sotto pointed out the facts in the case were unique. The charges focused on the cover-up, not the handling of the data breach at Uber; therefore, security leaders and executives should be warned.

At a minimum, CISOs should establish a framework within the company for managing incidents and then practice that framework through tabletop exercises, Sotto advised. But they also need to consider "some specific protections" around "exculpation, indemnification and insurance."

"In addition to that, we've seen a number of CISOs, for example, asking companies for indemnification, and what is really important is to be able to get your expenses advanced. Mounting a legal defense in this sort of a case is very, very expensive."

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group, Sotto discusses:

• How the Sullivan verdict will affect breach reporting and personal liability going forward;
• What security and privacy leaders should do to safeguard their own liability;
• How the law around personal liability for data breaches is evolving.

Named in the National Law Journal's "100 Most Influential Lawyers," Sotto serves on Hunton & Williams' executive committee. She was voted the world's leading privacy adviser by Computerworld magazine, earned the highest honor from Chambers and Partners as a "Star" performer for privacy and data security, and was recognized as a "leading lawyer" by The Legal 500 U.S. Sotto chairs the Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. databreachtoday.com


"If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong"
CEO behind ChatGPT warns Congress AI could cause 'harm to the world'

In his first congressional testimony, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called for extensive regulation, including a new government agency charged with licensing AI models

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman delivered a sobering account of ways artificial intelligence could "cause significant harm to the world"

Altman advocated for a number of regulations - including a new government agency charged with creating standards for the field - to address mounting concerns that generative AI could distort reality and create unprecedented safety hazards. The CEO tallied "risky" behaviors presented by technology like ChatGPT, including spreading "one-on-one interactive disinformation" and emotional manipulation. At one point he acknowledged AI could be used to target drone strikes.

Altman affirmed that his company will continue to release the technology, despite likely dangers. He argued that rather than being reckless, OpenAI's "iterative deployment" of AI models gives institutions time to understand potential threats - a strategic move that puts "relatively weak" and "deeply imperfect" technology in the world to understand the associated safety risks.

Members of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee expressed deep fears about the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, repeatedly suggesting that recent advances could be more transformative than the internet - or as risky as the atomic bomb. washingtonpost.com


CISA and Partners Release BianLian Ransomware Cybersecurity Advisory
CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) have released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) with known BianLian ransomware and data extortion group technical details. Microsoft and Sophos contributed to the advisory. To reduce the likelihood and impact of BianLian and other ransomware incidents, CISA encourages organizations to implement mitigations recommended in this advisory. cisa.gov


FBI Sends Message to Cyber Criminals Worldwide - We're Coming After You!
Ransomware Charges Unsealed Against Russian National
An indictment was unsealed today in the District of Columbia charging a Russian national with participating in a global ransomware campaign which deployed ransomware variants against victims in the District of Columbia, the United States, and around the world. Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev, alleged to use the online monikers Wazawaka, m1x, Broriscelcin, and Uhodiransomwar, 30, of Kaliningrad, Russia, is charged with intentional damage to a protected computer and threats relating to a protected computer.

From as early as 2020, Matveev was an active member of Babuk, a global ransomware campaign which ranked among the most active and destructive cybercriminal threats in the world.

"We want the indictment, sanctions and reward for Mikhail Matveev to sound an alarm in the ranks of cyber criminals all over the world," said SAC Dennehy. "The FBI and our law enforcement partners, as well as our international partners, are coming after you. justice.gov


Darknet "Carding" Website - 'Skynet Market' Founder & Gang Leader Faces 75 Years in Federal Prison
DOJ: Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Sell Stolen Financial Information on Dark Web
Michael D. Mihalo, aka Dale Michael Mihalo Jr., 40, of Naperville, was the founder of a darknet "carding" site called Skynet Market. Mihalo and his co-conspirators were also prominent vendors on additional darknet markets, including AlphaBay Market, Wall Street Market, and Hansa Market. Each market required users to conduct transactions in digital currencies, including Bitcoin. Through these markets, Mihalo and his co-conspirators sold the stolen financial information, primarily the credit and debit card numbers and associated information, of tens of thousands of U.S. victims between Feb. 22, 2016, and Oct. 1, 2019.

Mihalo assembled and directed the team that helped him sell this stolen financial information on the darknet. Each of the co-conspirators benefitted from the trusted reputation Mihalo, as ggmccloud1, had built on the darknet sites to sell more stolen financial information than they would have been able to sell individually. Taylor Ross Staats, 40, of Texas, conspired with Mihalo and others to sell stolen financial information on the internet. Staats served as a "card-checker," who ensured the financial information sold by Mihalo and others on multiple darknet sites remained active and had not been canceled by the relevant financial institutions.

Mihalo personally possessed, sent, and received the information associated with 49,084 stolen payment cards with the intent that the payment card information would be trafficked on darknet sites. Mihalo earned at least $1 million worth of cryptocurrencies at the time of the sales, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Monero. These funds have significantly appreciated since that time.

Mihalo pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, one count of access device fraud, and six counts of money laundering. He will be sentenced on a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy count and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each of the remaining counts. justice.gov


EU states approve world's first comprehensive crypto rules

Coral Springs, FL: Police Detained Members of Suspected Shoplifting Crew at Macy's Store in Coral Square Mall
On a recent Thursday evening, Coral Springs police officers rushed to the Macy's Men's store in Coral Square Mall to catch a suspected shoplifting crew in action, a police report said. Hours earlier, the crew allegedly hit a Macy's store in Fort Lauderdale, and now those members were attempting to conceal merchandise in the Coral Springs store at 9263 West Atlantic Boulevard, the report said. Officers detained at least two people, on May 4, including a 22-year-old woman who was later turned over to federal agents because she was an illegal immigrant, the report said. The woman, identified by police as Jesica Mancera Andapia, told police she wasn't at the store to steal. But the store's loss prevention staff told police they saw her walking around the store with a bag and putting items in it, the report said. As she was about to leave the store, Mancera Andapia allegedly ditched the bag in the Polo section when she saw police officers, the report said. Police found that her bag was lined with tin foil, which is often used by shoplifters to avoid activating sensors, the report said. She was charged with possessing an anti-shoplifting central device. Mancera Andapia , was taken to Broward County Jail and then turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the report said.  tapinto.net


San Ramon, CA: Suspect who allegedly stole $3K in merchandise from San Ramon Target arrested
A suspect who police say stole over $3,000 in merchandise from a Target store in San Ramon has been arrested, according to the San Ramon Police Department. The department received a call from Target loss prevention agents alerting them that a shoplifter was in the store. Patrol units were dispatched to the area and the suspect identified by store staff was detained as he left the store, police said. An investigation determined the suspect had stolen over $3,000 in merchandise.  kron4.com


Milton, GA: Suspected serial shoplifter makes repeat trip to Kohl's
Loss prevention at Kohl's on Ga. 9 reported a known shoplifter at the store May 3, who had walked out two days earlier with nearly $3,000 worth of clothing. The suspect, an Atlanta woman, was seen May 1 with a cart full of various clothing walking out of Kohl's, passing all points of sale and not attempting to pay for any of the items. When police asked loss prevention how he knew the woman, he said a detective in Gainesville, Florida, positively identified her using facial recognition software. The man told police he oversees the Kohl's loss prevention for the entire state and that he is "very familiar" with the woman. He recognized her from several other thefts from other Kohl's stores in Roswell, Marietta and more, the police report said.  appenmedia.com


Clarkston, WA: Woman Who Stole Merchandise from Walmart Pleads Guilty to Felony Burglary, Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail
A Clarkston woman who was arrested on a warrant earlier this year for stealing merchandise from the Walmart in Clarkston, WA has pleaded guilty to Burglary 2nd Degree, a felony. As a result of the plea, Bernice Jones was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay $600 in restitution and fines. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Big Country News Connection, Jones was seen on surveillance video under-ringing merchandise in the store's self-checkout lanes. After being confronted by staff, Jones fled the scene with the merchandise but forgot one thing, her purse.  bigcountrynewsconnection.com


Alexandria, VA: Man busted for allegedly stealing $1,500 in products from Target in Potomac Yard

Sebastian, FL: Man attempts to steal $1,000 in merchandise from Walmart