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7/7/26

Remembering Retail Loss Prevention
Leader George Luciano

George Luciano -- May 6, 1932 – July 2, 2026

George Luciano, a devoted husband, loving father, proud grandfather and great-grandfather, respected businessman, and loyal friend, passed away peacefully on July 2, 2026, at the age of 94.

Born on May 6, 1932, George lived a life defined by faith, integrity, hard work, and an unwavering love for his family. He was the beloved husband of Jacqui and a proud father to Frank, Lori, and Rick. His greatest joy was watching his family grow through his grandchildren—Anna, Veronica, Cristina, and Holden—and his great-grandchildren, Cody, Cassidy Rose, Brooklyn, and Blake. Nothing brought him greater happiness than being surrounded by those he loved.

Proud of his Italian heritage, George embraced the values that shaped his life: loyalty, perseverance, generosity, respect, and the importance of family. He believed that a person's word mattered, that success was earned through hard work, and that relationships were life's greatest blessing.

George began his career in public service with the Alhambra Police Department, serving from 1955 to 1967 and rising to the rank of Detective. He carried the principles he learned in law enforcement throughout the rest of his career.

For more than five decades, George became one of the most respected leaders in the fields of retail security, loss prevention, and asset protection. He served in the Security Department for Vons Grocery Company before becoming Vice President of Loss Prevention for Smith's Food King. He later served as Vice President of Asset Protection for HRT Industries and Clothestime, where he earned a reputation as an innovative leader, trusted mentor, and man of unquestioned integrity.

In 1988, George fulfilled his entrepreneurial dream by founding Civil Demand Associates. Even after many successful years in executive leadership, he continued working with the company until his retirement in 2015, sharing his knowledge and passion with clients and colleagues alike.

In recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the retail loss prevention profession, George was inducted into the Ring of Excellence by the Loss Prevention Council of the National Retail Federation in 2013. This prestigious lifetime achievement honor recognized not only his professional accomplishments, but also his leadership, innovation, integrity, and lasting impact on an entire industry. It was an achievement of which he was deeply proud and one that reflected the respect he earned from colleagues throughout the nation.

Those who knew George admired his calm confidence, sharp wit, and generous spirit. He had a remarkable ability to make people feel important, whether they were lifelong friends, business associates, or someone he had just met. He believed in encouraging others, leading by example, and treating everyone with dignity and respect.

Away from work, George enjoyed following NFL football, spending time with family and friends, and sharing stories that often ended with laughter. Whether he was known as George, "Lucky" to his longtime friends, "Pop" to his children, or "Noni" to his grandchildren, he will be remembered as a man whose strength was matched by his kindness and whose accomplishments were surpassed only by his love for his family.

George leaves behind a legacy far greater than his professional achievements. He leaves a family grounded in his values, friendships strengthened by his loyalty, and countless lives enriched by his wisdom, generosity, and example. He will be deeply missed, forever loved, and always remembered.

The D&D Daily extends its heartfelt condolences to George's family, friends, former colleagues, and the many professionals throughout the retail loss prevention community whose lives and careers he touched.

Everon Whitepaper

A Layered Approach to Securing Retail Entrances Against Theft

Retailers across the nation are feeling the strain and profit loss attributed to a rise in external theft hitting their stores. Taking an active role in layering technology and updating policies and procedures can help retailers stem the flow of activity and risk.

Shoplifting has been around as long as shopping itself. What changes over the years is the methods deployed by the thieves and the magnitude of the issue for retailers’ bottom lines. As reported by a number of industry associations, security suppliers and retailers, the COVID-19 pandemic has played a significant role in increasing the frequency of more violent types of crimes.

While no one solution or even combination of solutions will completely eradicate shoplifting from our society, taking an active role in layering technology and updating policies and procedures can help retailers stem the flow of activity and risk. Active prevention methods such as signage, visible camera technologies and public view monitors, along with solutions designed to modify consumer behavior, can have an impact on deterring crime across the retail industry.

Shoplifting, organized retail crime and social media-driven theft impacts everyone—from the consumer to the retailer and the communities where they operate—so a coordinated effort between retailers, their security partners and law enforcement is an essential first step.

To learn how Everon's retail security professionals can help create a safe shopping environment and minimize shrink in your stores, discover our comprehensive security, fire, and life safety solutions below.

Click here to read more

The U.S. Crime Surge
The Retail Impact

Shoplifting's Abandoned Cart Tactic
The Rise of the Abandoned Trolley: Inside Retailers' Billion-Dollar Shoplifting Crisis

Supermarket security teams reveal that abandoned shopping trolleys are a sophisticated tactic used by organized shoplifters to conceal and extract premium goods.

Supermarket aisles globally are increasingly littered with a peculiar phenomenon: shopping trolleys and baskets, half-filled with a bizarre mix of expensive electronics and cheap vegetables, abruptly abandoned by customers. While floor managers previously dismissed these as the result of forgetful shoppers or sudden emergencies, security analysts have identified the trend as a highly coordinated tactic deployed by organized retail thieves.

As retail shrinkage reaches critical levels across the United Kingdom, the United States, and East Africa, the psychology and methodology of the modern shoplifter have rapidly evolved. The abandoned trolley is not an accident; it is a calculated risk-mitigation strategy utilized by criminals attempting to extract millions of dollars in premium goods from major retail chains.

The Anatomy of the Decoy Strategy

Loss prevention officers analyzing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage have decoded the specific behavioral patterns associated with the abandoned trolley tactic. Shoplifters rarely enter a store and walk directly to the high-value aisles. Instead, they build a deceptive facade of ordinary consumer behavior.

Security industry professionals outline the tactical execution of the theft:

The Concealment Layer: Thieves place a sturdy shopping bag or backpack in the center of the trolley. High-value targets—such as premium cuts of meat, expensive alcohol, high-end Lego sets, or electronics—are deposited directly into this bag.
The Camouflage Layer: To avoid suspicion from staff and automated security cameras, the central bag is meticulously covered with mundane, bulky, and inexpensive items like loaves of bread, toilet paper, or pre-packaged salads.
The Evasion Protocol: If the thief suspects they are being monitored by plainclothes security or store detectives, they simply walk away from the trolley, severing physical connection to the stolen goods and eliminating legal grounds for detention.
The Extraction: If the environment is deemed safe, the thief grabs the concealed bag of premium goods while abandoning the trolley full of cheap decoys, walking quickly out of the store or through the self-checkout lane without scanning the hidden items. streamlinefeed.co.ke

Boosting Security While Reducing Friction
Tennessee Man Reaches For Item At Lowe's. Then He Runs Into A Surprising New Touchscreen: ‘No Need To Wait’
Anyone who's ever needed something locked behind a glass door (or some other security measure that makes it hard to just grab an item off the shelf) knows the drill. You try to click the button to call an employee, wait for an employee to show up, hope the employee isn't busy with someone else first, and maybe even leave without your item because you’re tired of waiting or just frustrated at the friction of the shopping experience.

One Tennessee electrician went to grab wire for a job and expected the usual wait. Instead, he found Lowe's had quietly changed the system to seemingly give customers more autonomy in the store. This time, though, there was a touchscreen mounted right on the metal doors, so Tim tried it out.

"We simply click 'use your cell phone,' agree to whatever that is, put your phone number in," he said. A code landed on his phone seconds later, and he typed it back into the screen. The screen accepted it, and two electromagnets holding the cage shut released on their own. No waiting for an associate required.

"Case is now unlocked. Got two electromagnets up here; they release. Now, I have all the access in the world to this. How neat. Good job, Lowe’s,” he said.

The National Retail Federation says that retail theft costs the industry about $95 billion across sectors, and stores have responded by locking down anything with resale value, Business Insider reported.

Visits by an Insider reporter to Walmart, Target, and Home Depot found the same pattern everywhere: power tools sealed in cages, spider-wrap alarms clipped onto smaller items, and security cameras trained on entire aisles.

Lowe's specifically has cages on power tools, alarms on display units, and—as of last year—some tools that won't even power on until they're activated at checkout. motor1.com

Major Crime Continues to Fall in NYC
NYPD reports fewest shootings, murders on record for first half of year

Major crime fell nearly 6% citywide, with the Bronx seeing the largest boroughwide drop.

New York City recorded its fewest shooting incidents, shooting victims and murders for the first half of any year in recorded history, according to new NYPD data released Thursday.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the city recorded 322 shooting incidents from Jan. 1 through June 30. That beat the previous first-half record of 337, set in both 2018 and 2025. The NYPD also reported 381 shooting victims, down from the previous record of 397 set in 2025.

Murders fell to 122 in the first half of 2026, down from 162 during the same period last year. The NYPD said that also marked the lowest first-half total in recorded history, beating the previous record of 136 set in 2017.

Overall, major crime was down 5.8% citywide, with 55,157 reported major crimes compared with 58,581 during the first half of 2025.

Major crime fell in several categories during the first half of the year, according to the NYPD: Murder: down 24.7%; Robbery: down 11.9%; Burglary: down 15.8%; Grand larceny: down 4.2%; Grand larceny auto: down 9.7%.

The department said it will continue using targeted deployments, violence reduction zones and enforcement initiatives focused on guns, gangs, retail theft, transit safety and traffic enforcement. fox5ny.com

Property Crime Drops 24% in California
Crime reaches historic lows, California’s public safety investments deliver results

New California Department of Justice data shows every major statewide crime rate declined in 2025

New data released today by the California Department of Justice shows since Governor Gavin Newsom took office, crime rates have declined across every major category: the homicide rate is down 20%, robbery rate is down 31%, property crime rate is down 24%, motor vehicle theft rate is down 19%, and violent crime rate is down 3%.

California continues to make meaningful progress in improving public safety, with every major statewide crime rate declining in 2025. The report also finds California recorded its lowest homicide rate since statewide data collection began in 1966, reflecting years of coordinated investments to make communities safer.

California has made historic investments to improve public safety by supporting local law enforcement, combating organized retail crime and auto theft, strengthening gun safety laws, expanding crime prevention programs, improving technology and investigative capacity, and investing in community-based violence intervention efforts.

These investments have helped deliver measurable progress across the state while supporting local partners working every day to keep Californians safe. gov.ca.gov

Support Grows for CORCA
The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act Protects Consumers and Businesses from Coast to Coast
Organized retail crime is harming American consumers, businesses and employees nationwide. The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, led by U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) would establish an integrated, commonsense response to this harmful criminal trend. The bill would establish new tools to recover stolen goods, while creating a centralized task force in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to share information and coordinate responses between federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as private industries.

This bipartisan proposal has garnered massive support from leaders at the national and local levels, including 38 state attorneys general, major law enforcement organizations and a coalition of over 260 impacted businesses. Further, it passed the U.S. House of Representatives by an overwhelming vote of 348-60 and was recently filed as an amendment to the Senate’s must-pass National Defense Authorization Act by Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

Read coverage from coast to coast exemplifying the urgent need for Congress to pass the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act: grassley.senate.gov

CORCA heads to Senate amid cargo theft debate

Letter Opposing Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025

Security Guards Illegally Armed?
Nevada security guards illegally carrying rifles and shotguns, lawmakers learn
The state agency that licenses security guards has been letting armed guards carry shotguns and rifles for years, even though Nevada law has no provision allowing the practice, state legislators learned Tuesday at a meeting of the Nevada Legislative Commission.

A regulation proposed by the Private Investigator Licensing Board, which oversees the security industry, sought to require eight hours of training for guards who carry shotguns and automatic rifles.

PILB Executive Director Vincent Saladino told lawmakers that security guards in Nevada are already carrying rifles and shotguns.

“We were behind the thinking of having a minimum training for security professionals,” Saladino said. “That way they would understand how to safely carry it, and it would be more protections for the public and for themselves.”

“What purpose does a shotgun serve at the EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) or at a local apartment complex or outside of a jewelry store? What’s the purpose of carrying a shotgun?” Sen. Melanie Scheible asked Saladino.

Legislative counsel confirmed that state law has no provision for training security guards on anything but handguns, rendering the use of any other firearm by security guards, other than certified instructors, illegal. newsfromthestates.com

Unresolved Retail Policy Priorities
Retail’s 6 most important policy priorities for 2026
The dog days of Congress are in full swing and with just 124 days (as of July 2) until the midterm elections, Capitol Hill might be running short on time, but not on priorities.

The legislative calendar continues to shrink as lawmakers juggle campaign pressures, appropriations deadlines and a growing list of unresolved policy issues. Despite the crowded agenda, retail industry priorities are picking up steam and becoming more likely to shape the remainder of the 119th Congress.

Opposing the Faster Labor Contracts Act
Enacting the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act
Reforming the credit card market
Adopting a consumer-centric, national data privacy standard
Advancing the Common Cents Act
Protecting critical retail technologies nrf.com

Taylor Swift Wedding Business Impact
Taylor Swift’s fantasy MSG wedding is a nightmare for some merchants, commuters
Not everyone was happy with superstar Taylor Swift’s nuptials with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden on Friday — especially shopkeepers and restaurateurs trying to keep their businesses afloat nearby.

While restaurants along Seventh Ave. are usually bustling on an average Friday afternoon, several of them, including McDonald’s and Smashburger, closed early as an army of city cops shut down streets around MSG for the afternoon wedding.

Only a few weeks ago, restaurant workers had to deal with street closures during the NBA Finals watch parties outside MSG, the manager said.

“New York has been kind of the ground zero for a lot of these insane billionaires just doing insane things,” Francis said. “It’s a crazy example of just, like, capitalism and the powers that people have, and the privileges that other people have that most don’t even get to fathom, you know?” nydailynews.com

Fiserv: Small business sales — especially retail — tick up in June
Fiserv’s latest Small Business Index for June 2026 revealed that sales rose 2.4% year over year and 0.8% month over month. Small business growth remained driven by higher average tickets, which increased 3.7% compared to 2025. The seasonally adjusted Index increased to 145 from 144 in May.

In retail, total sales increased 3.0% year over year and 1.5% month over month in June. Fiserv said growth was supported by both transactions (1.8% month over month, 2.7% year over year) and modest price gains, indicating more balanced demand. chainstoreage.com

OSHA Offers Training Grants
Grants, totally $12.7 million, are available for targeted topic training and educational material development.

(Updated) The running list of major retail bankruptcies

Survey: Grocery shoppers remain concerned prices could keep rising

Costco Expands Retail Footprint Across Canada with New Warehouses Planned

Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs across sales and Xbox. Read the memo.

Last week's #1 article --

Property Crime Continues to Trend Lower in Early 2026
New national data shows broad declines across major property crime categories

By the D&D Daily staff

New year-to-date data from the Crime Index points to continued declines in reported property crime across the United States, with every major category showing lower totals compared with the same period last year. The figures, covering January through April 2026, suggest the downward trend seen in recent years has continued into the first four months of the year.

Overall property crime fell 11.4% year over year, with 696,687 reported incidents compared with 786,350 during the same period in 2025. The Crime Index defines property crime using the FBI’s Summary Reporting System categories of burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft.

Among the individual offense categories, burglaries recorded one of the largest declines, dropping 16.5% to 82,840 reported incidents. Theft, which remains the largest property crime category by volume, decreased 8.4% to 511,252 incidents. Motor vehicle theft posted the steepest percentage decline, falling 20.3% to 102,595 reported offenses.

The Crime Index compiles data from participating law enforcement agencies nationwide and publishes current crime trends before annual FBI estimates become available. Its historical data also shows property crime has generally followed a long-term downward trajectory over the past several decades, despite periodic fluctuations in individual offense categories.

For retailers, the broader decline in reported property crime provides additional context as companies continue investing in loss prevention technologies, organized retail crime investigations and partnerships with law enforcement. While national crime statistics encompass a much wider range of offenses than retail theft alone, trends in burglary and theft remain closely watched by the retail industry.

As always, national figures may differ from local conditions. Individual communities can experience crime patterns that vary significantly from nationwide averages, making local intelligence, data sharing and targeted prevention strategies important components of effective retail security programs. crimeindex.org

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How Purchek® by Gatekeeper Systems can reduce pushout attempts before they happen and why fewer incidents may be the right result.

Retail security and theft mitigation solutions are often measured by visible activity. Incident counts, apprehensions, stops, and case volume are common benchmarks used to determine results. Those metrics are useful, but they do not always tell the full story.

Preventive technologies operate differently from reactive tools. Their purpose is to prevent incidents before they happen. When they are effective, theft attempts decrease, and operational disruption becomes less frequent.

That creates an important shift in how success should be viewed. In many cases, fewer incidents are not a warning sign. They are evidence that deterrence is actually working.

Read the full business case and learn more about:

How Deterrence Changes Offender Behavior
Understanding the “No News Is Good News” Effect
Why Baseline Measurement Is Critical
Setting Realistic POC Expectations

Continue Reading Here

Retail Is a Top Target for Cyber Attackers
What makes retail so attractive to cyber attackers?
Retail has become one of the world's most targeted industries for cyber-attacks. From global supermarket chains to independent online retailers, businesses across the sector hold large amounts of valuable customer data while relying on complex digital systems to keep sales moving.

Every payment, online order, loyalty scheme and supplier connection creates another opportunity for criminals to exploit.

Cyber attackers are driven by financial gain. Retail organisations offer multiple ways to make money, whether by stealing payment card details, demanding ransom payments, committing fraud or disrupting operations.

As retailers continue to invest in digital services and connected supply chains, the number of potential entry points also continues to grow.

Understanding why the retail sector attracts cyber criminals is the first step towards reducing cyber risk. Although no organisation can eliminate threats completely, recognising the industry's most common vulnerabilities helps businesses strengthen their cyber security and improve resilience.

Valuable data creates lucrative opportunities

Customer data is one of retail's most valuable assets. Retailers routinely collect names, addresses, email accounts, phone numbers, payment information and purchase histories.

Many also manage loyalty programmes that contain detailed records of consumer behaviour and preferences.

This information has significant value to cyber criminals. Stolen payment details can be sold through criminal marketplaces, while personal information can support identity theft, account takeover and highly convincing phishing campaigns.

Complex technology and supply chains increase cyber risk

Modern retail depends on interconnected technology. Stores, warehouses, online marketplaces, logistics providers, payment processors and software suppliers all exchange information continuously to keep products moving and customers satisfied.

While this connectivity improves efficiency, it also increases cyber security risk. Attackers often target suppliers or service providers with weaker security controls before moving into a retailer's environment. tech.yahoo.com

Companies Covering Up Breaches?
Most cybersecurity workers have been told to conceal a breach, report finds

Security firm Bitdefender also found that U.S. companies were simultaneously more confident and more strained on cyber defense than foreign peers.

Slightly more than half of cybersecurity professionals think AI is helping attackers more than defenders, the security firm Bitdefender found in a new report.

Malware improvements, social-engineering techniques and attack behavior (such as lateral movement and automatic vulnerability scanning) topped the list of AI-related threat vectors worrying respondents to Bitdefender’s survey.

The report also highlights shadow AI concerns, breach cover-ups and security confidence gaps between leaders and workers.

One of the most striking findings in Bitdefender’s annual report is the fact that 55% of workers said they were told to keep quiet about a breach. That number rose from 42% in 2024 to 58% in 2025 before plateauing this year. “That plateau is arguably just as troubling as the initial spike,” Bitdefender analysts wrote.

The security firm posited that while organizations are working to incorporate U.S. and European breach-disclosure regulations, “cultural change lags behind policy change.”

“Changing behavior may require making disclosure feel less punishing,” analysts wrote. “Or perhaps the opposite: making secrecy impossible to justify.”

More than half of respondents reported experiencing data breaches or other cybersecurity incidents over the 12 months leading up to the survey period, with 42% citing unauthorized cloud access, 36% citing business email compromise (BEC) and 26% citing ransomware. BEC was most common in the U.S., while unauthorized cloud access predominated in the other five survey countries: the U.K., France, Germany, Singapore and Italy. cybersecuritydive.com

CISO Roles Being Rewritten
The security leaders defining the next decade aren’t in CISO seats yet

The CISO role is being rewritten. Not incrementally, but fundamentally.

For most of the last decade, security leadership was defined by containment: stop breaches, manage compliance, keep the lights on. Today, the organizations that are winning, not just surviving, are the ones where security is embedded into how the business operates, how AI is deployed, how data is governed. The role has expanded from protector to architect.

The people building that new model aren’t the CISOs whose names appear on conference keynote slides. They’re the deputies, directors, and senior managers working inside complex organizations right now, making decisions about AI tooling, building detection and response capabilities from scratch, and figuring out what AI-native security operations actually look like in practice. They don’t have the title yet. But they’re writing the playbook that the next generation of CISOs will inherit.

And nobody is recognizing them for it.

Cybersecurity has no shortage of recognition programs. But most of them celebrate leaders who have already arrived: established CISOs with the title, the tenure, and the visibility to make shortlists. That’s not a criticism; it’s just what those programs are designed to do.

What’s missing is a recognition layer for the people on the path. The operators who are three to five years from the seat but are, right now, doing some of the most consequential security work in their organizations. The ones who will define AI-native security leadership for the next decade, and who represent the next wave of decision-makers, buyers, advisors, and community voices in this industry. cybersecuritydive.com

Securing the inbox: Where identity, brand and security meet

Why schools are easy prey for hackers — and why they struggle to fight back

Fake Reviews Fuel Counterfeit Sales
Why Online Reviews Matter in the Fight Against Counterfeits

By the D&D Daily staff

As e-commerce continues to expand, retailers are facing an increasingly complex challenge: counterfeit products that are marketed through sophisticated online listings designed to appear legitimate. While pricing, product photos and seller information remain important indicators, customer reviews have become another area where counterfeit sellers attempt to influence purchasing decisions.

Many online marketplaces rely heavily on customer ratings and reviews to help shoppers evaluate products. Positive reviews can increase visibility in search results and build consumer confidence. However, industry experts and marketplace operators have acknowledged that some bad actors attempt to manipulate review systems through fake accounts, paid reviews or coordinated review campaigns that artificially inflate ratings.

These tactics can make counterfeit or low-quality products appear more trustworthy, increasing the likelihood that consumers will purchase items they believe are genuine. In some cases, fraudulent reviews are paired with copied product images, misleading descriptions or listings that closely resemble those of authorized sellers.

Major e-commerce platforms have invested heavily in detecting and removing fraudulent reviews through automated systems, machine learning and human moderation. Platforms also encourage consumers to report suspicious reviews or listings, while many brands actively monitor online marketplaces for counterfeit products and unauthorized sellers.

For retailers and brand protection teams, monitoring customer feedback can provide valuable intelligence beyond product satisfaction. Reviews that reference poor quality, unusual packaging or authenticity concerns may provide useful leads for brand protection teams investigating potential counterfeit activity. Similarly, sudden spikes in positive reviews or repetitive language across multiple reviews can serve as indicators that additional investigation may be warranted.

Consumer education also remains an important part of the equation. Encouraging shoppers to purchase from authorized sellers, verify seller information and look beyond overall star ratings can reduce the risk of counterfeit purchases.

As counterfeiters continue to adapt their tactics, retailers, marketplaces and brands are increasingly recognizing that protecting the integrity of online review systems is not only important for customer trust but also for broader efforts to combat counterfeit goods throughout the e-commerce ecosystem.

Three Decades of Evolution for Amazon
Amazon Turns 32 With AI in Focus
Amazon turned 32 on Sunday, marking more than 3 decades of evolution from an online bookseller into a retail, cloud and AI powerhouse.

Jeff Bezos founded the company on July 5, 1994, in Bellevue, Washington, initially incorporating it as Cadabra before switching to Amazon.com. The website opened publicly on July 16, 1995, selling only books before expanding into music, videos, consumer goods and eventually the third-party marketplace and Amazon Web Services.

The scale of that transformation is striking. JPMorgan estimates Amazon passed Walmart last year to become the largest U.S. retailer. AWS generated about $129 billion in 2025 revenue and is running at an annualized pace above $140 billion in 2026, more than Salesforce, Adobe and ServiceNow generated last year combined. tradingview.com

As AI Agents Transform Commerce, Salesforce Unleashes Its Biggest Agentforce Commerce Release Yet

Europe’s new e‑commerce agenda: How AI is resetting growth and competition

Cape Coral, FL: Update, DOJ: Four charged in $1M jewelry store robbery
Four individuals have been charged in a superseding indictment related to the Jan. 6, 2026, robbery of a Cape Coral jewelry store where more than $1 million in jewelry was stolen. Ivel Sanchez Rivera, 52, of Hialeah; Osmani Barrios Carrera, 37, of Hialeah; Yunior Lopez Delgado, 42, of Miami; and Alberto Perez Elias, 57, of Miami, are named in the indictment. The individuals face charges including conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, interference with commerce by robbery, and use, carry, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The robbery involved breaking into a vacant business next door to the jewelry store before breaching a wall. wftv.com

Palm Beach County sisters sentenced for $32K baby formula theft ring
The women stole from 47 stores across six Florida counties. A pair of Palm Beach County sisters pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $32,000 of baby formula from stores across South Florida. Circuit Judge Sherri Collins sentenced Debreka Anderson, 28, to two years and 10 months in prison and her sister, 34-year-old Elizabeth Hutchins, to one year and seven months. Both were given credit for the three months they spent in jail following their arrest. palmbeachpost.com

Seattle, WA: Update: Seattle-area Lululemon shoplifting suspects charged with organized retail theft
King County prosecutors have charged Janeice Downs, Tiffany Renee Diggs, and Shata’Jarae Unique Porter with first-degree organized retail theft for a coordinated operation that stole over $5,000 in merchandise from two Lululemon stores on June 11. Investigators allege that Diggs and Porter stole the merchandise from the University Village and Southcenter Mall locations while Downs acted as the getaway driver, with cell phone data placing her at both scenes. All three women have prior criminal histories; Downs was recently released from prison in January 2026, Diggs was arrested on June 30 with bail set at $20,500, and Porter was arrested at SeaTac airport on June 23 before being released. fox13seattle.com

Petaluma, CA: Police Arrest Four Teens After Petaluma Target Chase
Four teenagers, including two wanted on felony warrants, were arrested after allegedly stealing merchandise from a Petaluma Target and fleeing on foot through a residential neighborhood, according to the Petaluma Police Department. An officer patrolling Johnson Drive was flagged down by a witness who reported the theft on Thursday. The four suspects ran through the Martin Circle neighborhood and crossed several residential backyards as officers pursued them. Police said the teens threw the stolen merchandise into several backyards during the chase. Officers recovered the items and returned them to the Target store. All four suspects, ranging in age from 15 to 17, were booked into Juvenile Hall. According to police, two of the teens had outstanding felony warrants, while a third had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant. patch.com

Windsor, CT: Two New Yorkers arrested at Costco after alleged fraudulent credit card shopping spree
Two suspected shoplifters were arrested at a Costco location Sunday after allegedly attempting to use fraudulent credit cards to steal merchandise, authorities said. The incident occurred around 3 p.m. in South Windsor, Connecticut, the South Windsor Police Department (SWPD) said Monday. Police said the pair are suspected serial Costco shoplifters and identified them as 35-year-old Brittany A. Howard of the Bronx, New York, and 34-year-old Kasheem M. Williams of Brooklyn. “Officers responded to Costco (1220 Tamarack Ave) for reports of two shoplifters actively stealing from the store and attempting to pay at the self-checkout with fraudulent credit cards,” SWPD said. nypost.com

Saginaw, MI: Man charged with burglarizing collectibles shop of $65K in Pokémon cards, sports memorabilia, cash

South Point, OH: Lowe’s Shoplifter Hit Store Three Times in Three Days

Man arrested after two air conditioners swiped from Jacksonville businesses on same morning

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Shootings & Deaths

Wayne County, MI: Third suspect arrested in fatal Fairlane mall shooting
Police have arrested a third and final suspect in connection with the fatal shooting at Fairlane Town Center, authorities announced Saturday, saying all three people believed to be involved in the violence are now in custody. The third suspect was taken into custody without incident Saturday afternoon, just before members of the Dearborn Police SWAT Team executed a search warrant at a residence in Inkster tied to the investigation. The arrest came a day after the Friday afternoon shooting, as authorities said Dearborn police detectives worked around the clock following leads, conducting interviews and coordinating with regional law enforcement agencies to identify and apprehend those believed responsible. detroitnews.com

Austin, TX: 1 dead, 1 injured in shooting at strip mall police call hotspot
A deadly shooting at a Northeast Austin shopping center late Saturday left one person dead and another injured, rattling neighbors who returned home to police cars and a helicopter circling overhead. Austin police said the shooting happened around 11:45 Saturday night in the parking lot of the Otro Pedo Sports Bar on East Braker Lane. Two victims were taken to the hospital. One of them died, and the other was in stable condition. cbsaustin.com

Natchez, MS: Grocery Store employee charged in fatal shooting
An altercation at a grocery store in Natchez between a group of people and a store employee escalated to a deadly shooting. According to the Natchez Police Department, officers as well as deputies with the Adams County Sheriff's Office responded to the Southside Market on Sgt. S. Prentiss Drive Sunday around 7 p.m. Police said Jamien Myles, 23, who worked at the store, told officers he had gotten into a verbal altercation with a group of men inside as they were checking out. Myles told police there was another encounter between the group and himself outside as he was collecting shopping carts. He said the group assaulted him and, in retaliation, Myles said he pulled out a gun and shot three of the men. wapt.com

Ferguson, MO: Mother of 5 killed by stray bullet at Ferguson gas station
A 35-year-old mother of five was shot and killed Tuesday night at a BP gas station on West Florissant Road in Ferguson while walking back to her car with two of her children. Ferguson police identified the victim as Shakeela Martin of Ferguson. She had taken her 9-year-old and 6-year-old children to the gas station to buy slushies when she was struck by gunfire. Police said she was an innocent victim. firstalert4.com

Chicago, IL: 4 shot, 2, fatally, at Auburn Gresham gas station
A shooting at an Auburn Gresham gas station has left two people dead and two others wounded Thursday morning, Chicago police said. The shooting took place at about 12:23 a.m. in the 7600-block of South Halsted Street. Police said four victims were standing outside when four suspects approached and opened fire on the victims. The suspects then fled on foot, police said. Video from security cameras shows someone walking up two men and opening fire. A 53-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man were both shot and transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where both were pronounced dead. abc7chicago.com

Dorchester County, SC: Man killed by Dorchester Co. deputy was shot at same Summerville store by deputy in 2023
The Dorchester County Coroner has identified the man who was shot and killed by a Dorchester County Sheriff's deputy during a reported burglary incident in Summerville. It has also been identified that this is the second time the suspect has attempted to rob the same location and was shot by deputies in both incidents. Ismael Jerrod Clark, 35, of Summerville, was identified as the deceased. abcnews4.com

Nashville, TN: Man charged after Mapco clerk shot in Donelson
An 18-year-old is facing multiple charges after Metro Nashville Police say a Mapco clerk was shot during a confrontation Monday night in Donelson. According to MNPD, Jordi Matos-Espinoza surrendered to police downtown Tuesday and is now charged with attempted criminal homicide, felony reckless endangerment, use of a gun in the commission of a dangerous felony, and vandalism. newschannel5.com

Baltimore, MD: Man killed in officer-involved shooting near Walbrook Junction Shopping Center

Taylor, MI: Driver of stolen U-Haul shot by Taylor police outside of Sheetz gas station

Robberies, Incidents & Thefts

Tampa, FL: DOJ: Surveillance And Search Warrants Bring Down Armed Tampa Robbery Crew
Four Tampa men will spend over a decade each behind bars after a federal judge handed down sentences for their roles in a pair of armed convenience store robberies. U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced 32-year-old Tra-Vontae Watson to 20 years and 5 months in prison, while Ronald Brown, 25, received a 15-year sentence. Jermaine Dawes, 33, was sentenced to 14 years and 10 months, and E’barous Harris, 27, was given 14 years and 7 months. All four men had previously entered guilty pleas. tampafp.com

Gaston County, Dollar Tree store intentionally set on fire, officials say
Multiple fire crews responded to a fire Sunday, July 5 at a Dollar Tree in Gastonia, according to the Gastonia Fire Department. No injuries were reported, according to the Gastonia Police Department. The fire was intentionally set, according to the Gastonia Fire Marshal’s Office. In an interview on July 6, Fire Chief Brad Best said officials believe a man walked into the store and shot off a firework inside, causing the fire. gastongazette.com

Montreal, Canada: SUV rams into north-end jewelry store in alleged burglary attempt
Four suspects — one of them a 13-year-old boy — were in Montreal police custody Monday morning after an alleged attempt hours earlier to break into a jewelry store using an SUV as a battering ram. Police spokesperson Manual Couture said multiple 911 calls were received around 1:45 a.m. reporting that thieves were trying to break into Bijouterie Aird in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville district. Officers arriving at the scene found the SUV had been abandoned after the thieves were unsuccessful in their attempts to steal any of the store’s inventory, police said. The suspects fled in a second vehicle but were soon intercepted by police and taken in for questioning. The three other suspects are 18, 17 and 16. There were no immediate reports of any injuries. montrealgazette.com

Portland, OR: Police seeking suspect after armed robbery at Astoria Safeway

Richmond Hill, ON, Canada: Electronics stolen in daylight robbery at Richmond Hill store

Howard County, MD: Man arrested as his car was stolen minutes after he’d robbed a store

South Indianapolis fireworks store owner seeks community help after $6,000 theft

Sydney, Australia: Retailers’ fear after security guard allegedly assaulted in wild brawl at Bankstown Central shopping centre

Catia La Mar, Venezuela: Security Guard rescued from a collapsed shopping mall 8 days after Earthquakes in Venezuela

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