At least ten suspects carried out a brazen daylight grab-and-run robbery at the Neiman Marcus store at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto Wednesday afternoon, escaping with more than $150,000 in stolen handbags.
Police believe the suspects might be part of a larger organized crime ring that has been responsible for a string of several high-profile, high-value thefts around the San Francisco Bay Area.
“On Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at about 12:20 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call of second-hand information of a man with a gun inside the Neiman Marcus store at Stanford Shopping Center at 180 El Camino Real,” Palo Alto Police stated. “Officers responded immediately and soon learned that there had not been a man with a gun, but rather a burglary shoplift that had just occurred.”
Police later clarified the initial report was a mistake and that there was no gun used in the robbery.
“The investigation revealed that ten unarmed suspects (five male and five female) entered the open store and grabbed 43 handbags, some of which they physically ripped off security cables (causing some glass in display cabinets to shatter),” police added. “They exited the store and fled in three vehicles prior to police arrival. Police believe at least two additional suspects were acting as getaway drivers but did not enter the store. Police believe someone mistook the sound of the breaking display cabinet glass to be a gunshot, as there is no evidence any of the suspects were armed.”
The robbery caused a brief moment of panic for shoppers and employees who were startled by the lunchtime commotion.
“Witnesses could only describe the suspects as black males and females, all of whom were wearing face coverings and hooded items of clothing,” police stated. “The three vehicles were described as a white Ford Mustang, a dark blue Infiniti four-door sedan, and a white Infiniti four-door sedan. Officers are actively investigating this case, to include working with regional partners to see if the same group of suspects may be connected to any similar thefts in other cities.”
Retail thefts have been rampant across the San Francisco Bay Area in recent years. In San Francisco, dozens of Walgreens and CVS stores have closed because of unchecked and rampant shoplifting.
Thieves have also targeted high-end clothing stores like Gucci, Prada, and other luxury retailers in San Francisco and elsewhere.
“San Francisco is the epicenter of organized retail crime in the country,” said Brendan Dugan, CVS Pharmacy’s director of Organized Retail Crime and Corporate Investigations.
Competing pharmacy chain Walgreens said it spends 35 times more than its average on security for its San Francisco stores, pouring about $10 million dollars on security in its stores to protect merchandise and employees — a whopping amount, according to company statistics presented during the meeting.
“Traditional guard service has become ineffective,” Walgreens said of its San Francisco locations.
On the Neiman Marcus grab-and-run thefts, police said they want witnesses to reach out to them with information.
“Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413,” police asked. “Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.”