Group of up to 50 people shoplift about $100K worth of luxury items from L.A. mall; used bear spray against guards

MicroWave@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 295 points –
Dozens of burglars swarm L.A. mall and steal up to $100K in luxury goods; bear spray used against guards
nbcnews.com

Between 30 to 50 people swarmed the Nordstrom at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Woodland Hills, making off with thousands of dollars worth of luxury handbags and high-end clothing, an LAPD spokesman told NBC News.

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It makes me laugh how many people think this is a new development only in CA and in 2023.

This happened back in the 90s to my mom while working retail. Like 10 people came in and carried off the furniture they had in the store, because they knew the employees were instructed not to do anything.

Shit like this has been happening all over the US for decades, the media just decided it was the hot new topic to get more clicks recently. Even the Walgreens CEO who said theft was so awful they had to close a bunch of stores later admitted they "cried wolf".

Rich people love the idea that theft is out of control in the media because it gives them a talking point to keep us peasants in control. Starbucks was charged by the labor board for closing down unionizing stores under the guise of "safety concerns". Starbucks isn't the only place that has been pulling that shit.

And that's not to say I agree with 50 people bear spraying people and stealing luxury shit either. This isn't someone stealing food from the grocery store to feed their kids. It wasn't billionaires working in the store, it's people working a shitty retail job for shitty pay no doubt. But it is a topic being overblown for rich people's benefit.

The biggest theft is wage theft. But nobody cares because is ok to stole from someone that is poorer that you.

but what about

No one cares about the fact that they stole some overpriced pirses dumbass, were calling them pieces of shit because they ran in and bear sprayed people who would have never intervened in the first place. The people doing this have no concept of class solidarity and the whole reason they're stealing in the first place is for posturing, it has nothing to do with "sending a message"

Same energy as people bitching about the homeless in SF and Portland. It's like have you seen our downtown bro, there's a tent city

Strongly considering buying property in Portland because values are depressed because of the propaganda/fear-mongering. I think there is a small, but legitimate risk that it eventually becomes true, though.

Downtown Portland has gone to shit, no doubt about it. But there are problems in every city that needs addressing. For what it's worth I'd move to Portland still, the area is beautiful and much better than the increasingly overpriced desert I'm living in

Have you actually been to Portland? It's not propaganda or fear-mongering. There are massive tent cities of homeless people under all of the major overpasses, and at a few random points throughout the city. It's a very real problem.

I used to work at a dollar store back in the day, and I was warned that this guy comes in every few weeks and grabs a bunch of jackets then runs out the back door.

No shit like clockwork it happened.

I was warned not to engage and just call the cops. My first time, I was in the back taking a shit in the bathroom next to the rear emergency exit. I heard the alarm go off and jumped up, pulled up my pants and ran out to catch him. He ran out back, I ran out after him. He pulled a gun on me and I learned my lesson. Let the dude have the jackets. Got it.

This isn't someone stealing food from the grocery store to feed their kids.. But it is a topic being overblown for rich people's benefit.

How is it overblown? It is a real issue with law enforcement in America. People are being permitted to destroy and steal property. We need to get to the root cause of what’s going on their. It’s due to failures on multiple fronts. You can’t just say ignore it because capitalism bad. Capitalism is a founding principle of this country’s economy. You can’t play the card that these people are protesting corruption because others are enriching themselves by stealing goods. That’s not noble in any way and doesn’t help employees.

It's changed recently to be far more organized. Crime goes in cycles though, catalytic converter and retail rings are just the big ones right now.