CHULA VISTA, Calif. — People living in the Eastlake community of Chula Vista say they've noticed an uptick in crime in the area.
A Walgreens Pharmacy was robbed twice just this month.
“It is kinda scary that it’s happening more and more,” said Chula Vista resident, Percy Arcega.
Arcega is one of the many residents concerned about recent thefts in the Eastlake area.
“I don’t want to expose my family to that kind of danger,” he added.
The Walgreens located on Olympic and Eastlake Parkway was hit on May 13 and then again nine days later.
“From what I understand it was the same person. The police are fully investigating," said Mayor, John McCann.
McCann says the area has seen an uptick in crime, along with other cities across the state.
“It becomes concerning because we’re just not used to crime like this,” added the mayor.
It’s unclear what was taken during the robbery.
Many took to a neighborhood social media page to voice their concerns including one person who wrote:
“It’s a horrible problem we are all facing millions of dollars in shoplifting issues. Some shoplifters are just walking off and the employees cannot stop them.”
Another person blamed it on “soft on crime laws in California." And added that "it will only get worse with overcrowding and thousands more moving to East Chula Vista.”
McCann agreed that laws need to be stricter.
“I think the laws allow people to do property crimes without consequences. Before if they would steal a large amount it would be a felony, now it’s just a misdemeanor. We need to get back to the rule of law where people are not allowed to go into stores and take what they want without consequences,” McCann said.
The mayor maintains that Chula Vista remains one of the safest communities in the county.
He adds that Chula Vista police take cases like this seriously and are planning on releasing security camera images of the suspect soon.
WATCH RELATED: New security measures taken at Chula Vista Ralphs to prevent shoplifting (Feb. 2023).