A thief was caught on cellphone video filling up a garbage bag with items in a San Francisco Walgreens while a security guard stood by and filmed the crime.
The video, which went viral on social media after it was posted Monday, showed a man filling up the bag while a woman and a security guard stood nearby filming. When the bag was full, the man hopped onto his bicycle and rode down the aisle, then out the door and past the security guard, who made little effort to stop him.
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This just happened at the @Walgreens on Gough & Fell Streets in San Francisco. #NoConsequences @chesaboudin pic.twitter.com/uSbnTQQk4J
— Lyanne Melendez (@LyanneMelendez) June 14, 2021
The clip of the theft was posted by ABC7 News reporter Lyanne Melendez, who happened to be shopping in the store on her off day.
“It’s hard for me as a journalist to say ‘I won’t be involved, I can’t get involved,’ I have to be sort of neutral, but this is also my city,” Melendez said. “I live in this city and I see this constantly. Not only Walgreens, but cars, and my garage door has been broken into twice.”
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was also tagged in the message. He was supported by groups linked to liberal megadonor George Soros and announced shortly after taking office that his office would not prosecute certain crimes such as prostitution and public urination while also firing seven prosecutors who were viewed as tough on crime.
Melendez, who says she has witnessed three other similar out-in-the-open thefts at other Walgreens locations in the city, asked, “At what point do we say enough is enough, we want our city back.”
The brazen theft has indeed been a trend across the city and has caused several retail locations to close because the companies can’t continue taking the financial hit of stolen inventory.
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“Seventeen Walgreens over the last five years, almost every Gap retail outlet is gone, CVS is under assault,” San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai told KGO about the crime surge.
Under California law, theft of merchandise under $950 is considered a misdemeanor, however, many prosecutors across the state have decided to release individuals charged rather than jail them.
