- Philly cops brawl with masked looters after they ransacked Footlocker, Apple and Lululemon before making TWENT Daily Mail
- Philadelphia swarmed by alleged juvenile looters targeting the Apple Store, Lululemon, Footlocker and others Fox News
- LOOTING IN PHILADELPHIA: Police say 15 to 20 arrested after lawlessness in Center City 6abc Philadelphia
- Philadelphia looting: Large crowds break into Foot Locker, Apple and Lululemon stores in Center City WPVI-TV
- Looters strike Apple, Lululemon stores in Philadelphia — unrelated to Eddie Irizarry protests, cops say New York Post
Tag Archives: looters
Los Angeles ‘flash mob’ of looters caught on video ransacking 7-Eleven
A “flash mob” of looters were caught on camera ransacking a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles earlier this week — making off with handfuls of cigarettes, snacks and other goods, authorities said.
Video clips released by Los Angeles police show dozens of people, many of them not bothering to hide their faces, grabbing up various items as they swarmed the chain store Monday shortly after midnight in the Harbor Gateway section of the city.
Part of the footage even shows the rowdy bunch going behind the counter that was apparently vacated by 7-Eleven employees and flinging items toward a pack of people on the other side.
Snacks, drinks, cigarettes, lottery tickets and other merchandise were all lifted from the store that also was vandalized, according to police. Looters also allegedly threw items at store employees.
After exiting the store, the throngs of suspects quickly left the area before cops arrived, police said.
The robberies occurred during a street takeover where drivers flooded and blocked a city intersection with their vehicles from all directions to create a “pit” in the middle of it, police said.
Spectators got out of their cars and watched as drivers started “doing donuts,” authorities said.
“The term ‘flash mob’ was first used to describe a large public gathering at which people perform an unusual or seemingly random act and then disperse, typically organized by means of the internet or social media,” the LAPD said in a statement.
“In the latest cases, however, ‘flash mobs’ have turned from fun spontaneous events to opportunistic criminal occurrences.”
Police were seeking the public’s help in apprehending the suspects.
Looters caught stealing from ravaged homes of Kentucky tornado victims
Five heartless thieves were busted for looting the ravaged homes of tornado victims in Kentucky, officials said.
The group of looters allegedly went to an area “particularly hit hard by the tornado” on Friday and ransacked the destroyed homes, according to Graves County Sheriff Jon Hayden.
Law enforcement officers from several agencies quickly converged on the group who were stopped while trying to flee the area with several damaged vehicles in tow.
The vehicles “were owned by tornado victims that have been displaced by the tornado, in the hospital, and/or deceased,” Hayden said.
When confronted by officers, group members gave contradicting stories with some claiming they had received permission to be there, which deputies disproved after contacting the homeowners.
In addition to the cars and other household goods, two of the suspects were found in possession of methamphetamines.
Kaitlyn Moore, 29, was found with methamphetamine hidden in her body cavity, which she told police was hidden when the group was stopped. She was charged with automobile theft, possession of methamphetamine and tampering with evidence. No home address was disclosed by officials.
Linda Morris, 52, of Dresden, Tennessee was found with syringes containing methamphetamine in the vehicle she was operating and in her purse. She was also found in possession of copper wiring and a brand new pair of women’s Ugg boots that were stolen from a storm victim’s home. She was charged with automobile theft, theft of personal property, possession of methamphetamine and driving with a suspended license.
Kevin Stowe, 55, of Union City, Tennessee, was found with over $120,000 in his possession and was charged with theft of an automobile and theft of a motor vehicle registration plate.
Ronnie White, 57, and Lynne Bailey, 56, both of Hickman, Kentucky, were both charged with unlawful taking of automobiles.
It wasn’t the first time looters struck the home of victims from the recent twisters.
On Friday, four men from Michigan were arrested in nearby Princeton for also attempting to steal storm-damaged vehicles from victims’ homes.
In response to the arrests, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron warned that “Looting and theft will not be tolerated.”
“Our office has spoken with Graves County Sheriff Jon Hayden and Commonwealth’s Attorney Richie Kemp, and the full force of the law will be brought against anyone who tries to take advantage of Kentuckians,” the AG said in a statement.
In total, 78 Kentuckians were killed in the devastating tornado the tore across the region on Dec. 10 and 11. On Saturday, Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed that all missing persons had been accounted for.
In total, at least 92 have been confirmed dead across several states.
Another Los Angeles-Area Nordstrom Robbed By Multiple Looters – Deadline
Yet another in a string a smash-and-grab robbery at a Los Angeles-area Nordstrom took place tonight. The store at the Westfield Topanga & The Village shopping center in Canoga Park was hit at about 7 p.m.
A group of at least five men, one wearing an orange wig, entered the store and stole seven or eight purses before fleeing the scene and jumping into a newer model gray Ford Mustang that sped away from the scene, according to reports from ABC7 and KCAL9.
BREAKING: LAPD responding to a smash and grab robbery at Nordstrom located in the Topanga Westfield Mall. #air7hd overhead @ABC7
— Chris Cristi (@abc7chriscristi) November 25, 2021
A security guard was pepper sprayed during the heist and was taken to a hospital for treatment, though no further details were immediately available.
The robbery occurred two days after a similar group robbery by a mob of at least 20 people at the Nordstrom store at the Grove. The suspects in that robbery fled the scene in at least four vehicles. Three were arrested in South Los Angeles following a chase. Officers recovered several items of clothing, at least one cash register and gloves from their vehicle.
The incidents follow a similar mass robbery at a San Francisco-area Nordstrom store on Saturday which allegedly involved 80 people. Additionally, on Friday night, San Francisco’s Union Square saw a string of incidents. The businesses hit included a Louis Vuitton store, a Burberry store, a jewelry store, a Bloomingdale’s, a Walgreens, cannabis dispensaries and an eyeglass shop, according to S.F. Police Chief Bill Scott via CNN.
Also very early Sunday morning, the windows of Louis Vuitton and Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills were smashed, according to the Times, which reported that “multiple suspects were seen traveling in several vehicles and that they ‘descended on the locations and used a sledgehammer to try to break through front windows.’” The burglars did not get into the stores, and nothing was taken, according to police.
At about 9:45 p.m. Monday, six suspects entered a CVS Pharmacy in the 5800 block of South Vermont Avenue in South L.A. and stole three cash registers, taking about $8,500 in cash, according to Officer Drake Madison of the Los Angeles Police Department. It was unclear if the same suspects later targeted the Grove.
City News Service contributed to this report.
20 looters hit LA Nordstrom store in smash-and-grab break-in
Three suspects were arrested after looters stormed a Nordstrom store in Los Angeles on Monday night, stealing an unknown amount of merchandise.
Twenty looters struck the Nordstrom store at The Grove, a high-end shopping mall, shortly before 11 p.m., according to CBS Los Angeles.
Authorities said the individuals smashed the windows with a sledgehammer before entering. The suspects fled in four vehicles, with police engaging in a pursuit with one of the cars and later arresting three of the people after they attempted to flee on foot.
Just an hour before the Nordstrom looting, a CVS located about 10 miles away was also hit by burglars, who reportedly stole $8,500 in cash. Police are investigating to see if there’s a connection between the two incidents, CBS Los Angeles reported.
California has seen a wave of looting and department store break-ins. On Saturday, more than 80 people arrived in 25 vehicles and broke into a Nordstrom near San Francisco, stealing up to $200,000 in merchandise, police told local news outlet KTVU.
On Sunday, looters also broke into a Louis Vuitton and a Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills.
California Gov. Gavin NewsomGavin NewsomUnraveling the supply chain mess Was education really the winning wedge issue for the GOP? School board elections tell a different story Five faces from the media who became political candidates MORE (D) said the California Highway Patrol would step up its presence around such stores amid the rise in break-ins.
“You will see substantially more, starting today, in and around areas that are highly trafficked coming into the holiday season, Black Friday, shopping malls, so the state is supplementing those efforts and we are going to be more aggressive still,” he told reporters at an event on Monday.
‘It Was Insane’; Dozens Of Looters Ransack Walnut Creek Nordstrom Store – CBS San Francisco
WALNUT CREEK (CBS SF) — Dozens of looters swarmed into the Nordstrom store in downtown Walnut Creek Saturday night, terrorizing shoppers, ripping off bag loads of merchandise and ransacking shelves before fleeing in a several vehicles waiting for them on the street.
Walnut Creek Lt. Ryan Hibbs told KPIX 5 that police began receiving calls about the looting at around 9 p.m. He said there were approximately 80 individuals who ran into the store and began looting and smashing shelves.
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Video shot at the scene shows the masked looters streaming out of the store, carrying bags and boxes, jumping into the cars.
Dozens of police vehicles also responded to the scene.
Hibbs said officers stopped one vehicle and arrested both suspects — a male and a female — inside. The male was charged with robbery, possession of stolen property, conspiracy to commit burglary and possession of burglary tools. The female was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Stolen property from the looting and a firearm was recovered from their vehicle.
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A third suspect was caught on foot and arrested. He was also charged with robbery, possession of stolen property, conspiracy to commit burglary and possession of burglary tools.
Brett Barrette is one of the managers of P.F. Chang’s restaurant across from the Nordstrom store. He watched as the bedlam unfolded.
“I probably saw 50-80 people in like ski masks with crowbars, a bunch of weapons,” he said. “They were looting the Nordstrom.”
“There was a mob of people,” he continued. “The police were flying in. It was like a scene out of a movie. It was insane.”
Barrette also worried about the safety of the diners in his restaurant. Many crowded around the windows to watch the looters flee.
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“I had to start locking the front door,” he said. “Locking the back door. You never know, they could come right in here. It was crazy…All the guests inside were getting concerned. It was a scary scene for a moment.”
Kyle Rittenhouse trial: Judge will allow the men Kyle Rittenhouse shot to be potentially called ‘rioters’ or ‘looters’ — but ‘victim’ isn’t allowed
“Let the evidence show what the evidence shows, that any or one of these people were engaged in arson, rioting or looting, then I’m not going to tell the defense they can’t call them that,” Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder said during the pre-trial hearing.
Rittenhouse is charged with felony homicide related to the shooting and killing of Anthony M. Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and felony attempted homicide for allegedly wounding Gaige Grosskreutz during protests that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, is also charged with possession of a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18, a misdemeanor, according to court records.
He has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys argue he acted in self-defense.
The debate Monday over the use of terms in court could foreshadow contentious proceedings when the trial gets underway for the teen accused in the deadly shooting that unfolded during a summer of racial justice protests across the country.
On Monday, Rittenhouse’s legal team and prosecutors attended a pretrial hearing to review outstanding issues before jury selection begins on November 1.
The conversation turned to whether defense attorneys would be allowed to refer to Huber, Rosenbaum and Grosskreutz as arsonists, rioters or looters due to their alleged behavior during the chaotic and fiery demonstrations.
“I don’t think I’m inclined toward prior restraint,” Schroeder said.
But Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger argued the judge was setting up a “double standard” due to his longstanding rule of not allowing prosecutors to refer to people as “victims” at trial.
“If I were to count the number of times that you’ve admonished me not to call someone a victim during a trial, it would be in the thousands,” Binger said.
“The word ‘victim’ is a loaded, loaded word. And I think ‘alleged victim’ is a cousin to it,” Schroeder said.
But Binger disagreed, telling the judge, “I think it’s the exact same issue. The terms that I’m identifying here, such as ‘rioters,’ ‘looters,’ ‘arsonists,’ are as loaded, if not more loaded, than the term ‘victim.'”
The debate over labels and how they may inform the jury’s impression of those at the center or the trial gets to the heart of the defense’s argument that Rittenhouse opened fire that night to protect himself.
Shots fired amid chaotic scene
Numerous videos taken during the protests show Rittenhouse, wearing a green T-shirt and a backward baseball cap and carrying an AR-15-style rifle, walking the city’s streets with a group of armed men.
According to the criminal complaint against Rittenhouse, which is based on videos and witness accounts, the situation turned deadly after the teenager scuffled with protesters near a car dealership. He allegedly shot Rosenbaum, a 36-year-old unarmed protester, after Rosenbaum threw an object that appeared to be a plastic bag at him and missed.
As Rosenbaum lay on the ground, the complaint says, Rittenhouse ran away while calling a friend and telling them, “I just killed somebody.” He was pursued by protesters, and then tripped and fell to the ground.
While he was on the ground, Rittenhouse shot Huber, who appeared to hit him with a skateboard, according to the complaint, and then shot a third protester approaching him, Grosskreutz, in the right arm. Grosskreutz was holding a handgun but had his hands up, the complaint says.
After the shooting, Rittenhouse walked by police with his hands up, bystander videos show, and he turned himself in at his local police department the morning after the shooting.
Binger, the prosecutor, argued Monday that any behavior Rosenbaum, Huber or Grosskreutz may have participated in that night that could lead the jury to believe they were arsonists, rioters or looters wasn’t witnessed by Rittenhouse and shouldn’t be part of his defense.
“He can’t argue self-defense against things he’s not aware of,” Binger said. “These other acts are strictly designed to attack the reputation of these individuals, it’s designed to paint them in the worst possible light to prejudice them. Two of them can’t defend themselves … because the defendant killed them. And it’s unduly prejudicial to the jury to be told about any of those things.”
But a defense attorney said the shootings should be weighed against the wider context of what was happening that night.
“All of that lawlessness, all of the facts and circumstances surrounding what is going on, is relevant in terms of Kyle Rittenhouse’s conduct. I think it’s impossible to say that it’s not.”
CNN’s Casey Tolan, Ray Sanchez, Omar Jimenez and Faith Karimi contributed to this report.