Six other suspects, including four minors, were arrested in connection with a series of robberies in retail stores in Los Angeles, authorities said Thursday.
The incidents occurred on November 22, December 3 and Wednesday in four locations, Los Angeles police said. In a robbery, one of the suspects pushed a pregnant employee to the ground, the police said.
Maricio Ulloa, 19, is charged with burglary and Angel Torres, 21, has been arrested on suspicion of robbery.
SMASH-AND-GRAB RABBERRY PLAGUE CITIES WITH LIBERAL DISTRICT LAWYERS
The other four suspects have not been identified because they are under the age of 18.
The LAPD did not say how much goods were lost in the thefts, but flash mobs have been known to rummage through stores in seconds for goods valued at thousands of dollars.
The thefts were the latest in a wave of robberies, in which groups of thieves brazenly break into retail stores and smash glass cases to steal jewelry, designer bags and other luxury items, sometimes in the presence of shocked bystanders.
Critics blame California’s zero bail rules for providing incentives for such criminal behavior. The state has decided to temporarily suspend bail for lower-level misdemeanors and offenses in an effort to reduce prison inmates in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“All suspects taken into custody are out of custody, either because of one juvenile or the other because of rescue operations or zero-bail criteria,” LAPD chief Michel Moore said last week after 14 suspects allegedly linked to 11 robberies were arrested .
Los Angeles County’s District Attorney George Gascon, who advocated ending cash bail for light non-violent crimes, said his office will hold smash-and-grab attendees accountable.
Photo of a security guard who was hit with bear spray during a robbery by a gang of thieves in Los Angeles on November 24th. Six suspects, including four minors, were arrested in connection with other flash mob robbery incidents, Los Angeles police said Thursday.
(Los Angeles Police Department)
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“These audacious acts hurt us all; retailers, employees and customers alike,” Alex Bastian, Gascon’s special advisor, told Fox News last week. “We will hold those responsible to account.”
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