Police are on the lookout for suspects associated with a theft attempt at a California department store.
At around 5 a.m. on Saturday morning, Beverly Hills police responded to a situation in which a “vehicle was intentionally driven into the front” of a Neiman Marcus store to “commit a burglary,” said Beverly Hills police chief Mark Stainbrook in a video statement on the police department’s Twitter page.
Police said the suspects had fled the scene by the time officers had arrived, though detectives are currently investigating the situation. Stainbrook said he is confident that arrests will be made.
“Crime of any kind will not be tolerated in Beverly Hills,” Stainbrook said.
FN has reached out to Neiman Marcus Group for a comment.
The incident marks the latest retail theft attempt to plague California. In the last few months, California authorities have thwarted several theft attempts at Lululemon stores across the state. On June 17, authorities recovered 100 stolen pairs of leggings valued at over $12,000. On June 6, authorities recovered a major shipment of stolen Lululemon merchandise, which included 1,861 stolen items with a retail value of $203,688.
In May, more than $700,000 in stolen merchandise was recovered and a San Francisco Bay-area man was arrested in connection with a smash-and-grab retail theft ring, California Highway Patrol (CHP) said. Investigators discovered stolen merchandise from multiple retailers, including Macy’s, Lululemon, Target, CVS, and more valuing “at least $715,000.”
In December, Calif. Governor Gavin Newsom introduced a new plan to fight and prevent crime in the state as it faces a spike in organized smash-and-grab thefts. The plan would introduce $255 million in grants for local law enforcement over the next three years in order to increase police presence at retail locations.
Other states have been victim to the recent wave of organized retail crime as well. In May, two Nordstrom employees were arrested in connection with a theft at the department store that employed them in Minnetonka, Minn. after police recovered $400,000 in stolen goods from a Nordstrom store.
Given the surge in crime, CEOs from 20 leading retailers across the U.S. in December sent a letter to Congressional leadership, imploring lawmakers to pass the “INFORM Consumers Act,” legislation that will modernize consumer protection laws to safeguard families and communities from the sale of illicit products. Signatories included the heads of Nordstrom, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker.