By Isaac Ceja / Real America News
Apr 18, 2024, 00:18 AM EDT
A group of 10 to 20 young people are suspected of “sudden robberies” at local retail stores in East Los Angeles.
According to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the suspects enter stores at night wearing hoodies and masks, remove clothing and other merchandise, and in each incident the suspects have been observed fleeing in bicycles without paying anything.
The document highlights that on March 3, the individuals targeted retail stores, used force in the assault and did not show any respect for the safety of the victims present.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force (ORCTF) currently has an open investigation and would like the public’s help in identifying the suspects who are reported to be Hispanic males 5 to 6 feet tall and between 15 at 25 years of age.
Although LAPD staff said in an update that as of yesterday afternoon they had no evidence that the students were from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), they initially said the suspects likely attend LAUSD schools near the stores that were affected.
Regarding what happened, LAUSD personnel did not want to delve too deeply into the issue since it had not been confirmed that the suspects were district students; However, they explained that they would talk about the issue in schools.
“Although it is not known whether the individuals involved are students in our school district, we reinforce the importance of responsible behavior and being a good citizen among our students through education and support programs,” an LAUSD spokesperson said.
According to a report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), in the most recent data for 2022 at the state level, theft increased by 29%; However, that figure is still 8% lower than pre-pandemic levels and 17% lower than in 2014.
In the same report, the PPIC explained that due to Proposition 47, theft is defined as petty theft or misdemeanor if the amount stolen is less than $950.
It is important to note that although the theft data is not the highest that has been experienced in the state of California in recent years, the PPIC mentioned that each police department reports crimes differently and the data does not allow theft to be identified. organized retail.
One of the stores affected by the “sudden robbery” in East Los Angeles was the WSS store, a national shoe store retail chain located in Boyle Heights.
Possibly due to previous robberies, when entering the store one of the workers had a body camera, similar to the ones that LAPD officers use, although no one wanted to talk about it, but at the time of going to press, the WSS company did not. had responded to some questions from La Opinión.
Julio Chavez, a resident who often passes by the area where the WSS store is located on Olympic Street, said he has noticed that there are often LAPD officers in the area.
After living in various parts of Los Angeles for more than 40 years, Chavez says the robberies seen today are something very new to the community.
“Before, in the 80s or 90s, none of this happened and now after the pandemic all this has happened,” said Chávez. “It’s like people are more insecure.”
For Chávez, unemployment is perhaps one of the reasons why he thinks people decide to get involved in shoplifting.
He added that the laws need to be changed so that this type of robbery does not continue to happen. “I hope local officials can pass laws to prevent it.”
Marisela Ruiz and her husband Daniel Olivares sell fruit on Soto Street outside the WSS company.
Marisela explained that they have already suffered robberies in the four months that they have been selling in the area.
“A few weeks ago, someone asked her husband to lend them a knife and they tried to threaten him with the same knife,” Marisela explained.
Like Chávez, Ruiz has lived in Los Angeles for many years and says that lately he feels that thefts have increased and the sales of his business have decreased, which makes his financial situation difficult.