SAN DIEGO — Smash-and-grab shoplifters have targeted San Diego’s Fashion Valley Mall twice in the past two weeks. The groups of alleged thieves stole thousands of dollars in handbags from Chanel.
We spoke with a woman who witnessed one of the mob-style smash-and-grabs and said the thing that surprised her most, is that she never saw the police come after it happened.
Cindy was at the Nordstrom Café at Fashion Valley Mall on November 3 having coffee when she saw several people walk into the Chanel Boutique inside Nordstrom.
“All were wearing the black face mask. I noticed they had blue gloves on. They had hoodies on with the hoodie up of course and they were walking briskly in the store. It was very surreal because you see it on the internet, you see it happening in other cities and you think, oh my gosh, this is actually happening here in front of me?," Cindy said.
She said her brother called 911 but she and her sister didn’t know what to do.
“You don't know if they were going to come out with people chasing them or if people have weapons or whatever. It was just a couple minutes later they came running out. One of them actually dropped a purse. They all had their hands full of purses and then they went running towards a getaway car and took off," Cindy said.
According to the Chanel website, there are handbags listed for $5,000-$10,000 and more.
Cindy said she and her sister hung around shopping for a few hours after it happened and never saw the police come. She said, “I was really confused as to when do they actually get here because I was thinking about witnesses, people that were standing around maybe with videos or descriptions.”
CBS 8 reached out to San Diego Police. They said there were two smash-and-grabs at this same Chanel Store this month. The first was on November 3 at about 10:15 a.m. 5 suspects stole high-end purses from the Chanel store in Nordstrom at Fashion Valley Mall.
Then again on November 8, at about noon, a group of 15-20 people wearing dark clothing, masks, and gloves ran into the Fashion Valley Nordstrom. They stole handbags from the Chanel store and fled in multiple vehicles.
“Investigators are currently working these cases. They are in the process of locating and reviewing video, collecting evidence, and working to locate witnesses. Anyone with information is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers,” said the San Diego Police Department.
“Where was the police presence? This wasn't grabbing a few articles of clothing. This was high-end, top-dollar merchandise," Cindy said.
CBS 8 went to Fashion Valley Mall today and saw a San Diego Police Car outside Nordstrom. Several security officers were also walking around and one was posted right outside Chanel inside Nordstrom.
We spoke with an employee who was working one of the days a smash-and-grab happened. They said the thieves stayed away from employees. If someone was standing at a counter, no one came near them to grab merchandise and they believe that’s intentional.
All the Chanel merchandise is anchored to thick security ropes. But the group of thieves go into the store and yank them off the walls and once they’ve cleared the shelves in just minutes, they take off. The employee said the whole thing is fast, furious, and scary.
Cindy hopes the increased security at the mall stays through the busy holiday shopping season and beyond. She doesn’t want other shoppers to feel like she feels now.
“Feeling unsafe. Feeling that sense of anger- it's happening and they're getting away with it. And feeling sad. This is what it's come to," Cindy said.
Earlier this month, California officials announced they would be sending over $267 million to 55 cities and counties to specifically crack down on arrests and prosecutions for organized retail crime.
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