Six people were arrested after a mob of robbers in ski masks rushed into a San Francisco Walgreens and filled bags and a wagon full of stolen merchandise.
Two teens, age 16 and 18, as well as three men, 20, 24, and 54, and a woman, 34, were all arrested for felony charges of burglary when officers caught them in the act.
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The cops, who were conducting a different retail ‘blitz’ operation nearby, chased the crooks and arrested them.
This comes just weeks after San Francisco allocated $15.3milllion to fight retail theft in the city – which has been riddled with crime, homelessness, and exacerbated drug problems since the beginning of the pandemic.
San Francisco Police Department said in a statement: ‘On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, San Francisco Police officers from Ingleside District were conducting an Organized Retail Theft operation at a retail establishment located on the 900 block of Geneva Ave.
‘These operations are intended to assist businesses that have been experiencing commercial burglaries and thefts.
‘At approximately 6:37 p.m. officers observed a group of approximately eight people rush into the business wearing masks and carrying bags while pulling a wagon-styled cart.
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‘Officers developed probable cause to arrest 6 suspects (16-year-old male, 18-year-old male, 20-year-old male, 24-year-old male, 34-year-old female, 54-year-old male) for felony charges of burglary, conspiracy, and organized retail theft.’
Mayor London Breed said on Friday: ‘I know oftentimes when a crime occurs and videos circulate, there is a bit of a perception, a perception that these crimes are happening and a perception that nothing is being done.
‘Well, in fact, something is being done.’
Just last week, it was announced that seven Starbucks stores in San Francisco’s downtown area were planning to close as the city continues to deal with crime, drug use, and a homelessness epidemic.
The coffee company on Tuesday announced the locations of the stores which will shutter effective October 22 as part of an evaluation of the company’s portfolio.
The official said they are committed to San Francisco as a whole and added that they have opened three other stores in the area in the last six months.
Despite the apparent denial that the closures are connected to the city’s persistent issues, it’s just the latest in a string of recent major store shut downs in the Bay Area.
In August, the area’s flagship Nordstrom closed after three decades in business while other notable closings include Whole Foods, CB2, Anthropologie, and more.
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More than 849 people are expected to die of drug overdoses in 2023, on pace to exceed the current record of 720 deaths in 2020 when substance abuse treatment programs were forced to reduce capacity or shut down during the pandemic.
The city has struggled with an overdose epidemic partially driven by the spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and lethal even in very small doses.
Open-air drug markets, overdose deaths, prolific shoplifting and violence have characterized the coastal city’s ‘doom loop’ as companies shut down stores and tech employees opt to work from home.
San Francisco Police have attempted to shut down drug markets in the hard-hit Tenderloin and SoMa areas of the city where Mayor London Breed declared an official state of emergency in December 2021.
The force has seized 42 kilograms of fentanyl between 29 May and 17 September.
Arrests for narcotics use and sales also racked up to 1,106 in the same period, according to police statistics.
* ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12632815/amp/San-Francisco-Walgreens-wagon.html?ito=smartnews
