3 California Nordstrom looting suspects arrested out of 90 in Walnut Creek heist
An estimated 90 people stormed a Nordstrom in Walnut Creek in what police say was organized retail theft
Three suspects have been arrested and charged out of the estimated 90 individuals who stormed a California Nordstrom in a looting mob attack over the weekend.
Officials originally believed the coordinated retail theft attack on Nordstrom's Walnut Creek store outside of San Francisco involved roughly 80 people, but have upped that number by 10. The authorities say the mob entered all at once using three separate entrances to the store.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
JWN | NORDSTROM INC. | 22.34 | +0.09 | +0.38% |
Dana Dawson, 30, Joshua Underwood, 32, and Rodney Robinson, 19, have been hit with an array of felonies. All three have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, second degree burglary, and organized retail theft.
Robinson was also charged with second degree robbery and receiving stolen property with a value exceeding $950, and Dawson had an additional charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.
"The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office is committed to working with the Walnut Creek Police Department and our retail community to hold those involved in retail theft accountable," District Attorney Diana Becton said in a statement. "We are committed to stopping those who participate in organized retail theft, which has adverse and costly impacts on business owners and consumers as well."
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The arrest of the trio was reported by the City of Walnut Creek Police Department on Sunday. In describing the Nordstrom attack in their press release, the department said "two employees were assaulted and one was pepper sprayed by the suspects, one of whom was in possession of a firearm."
The department added that "investigators are in the process of reviewing surveillance footage to attempt to identify other suspects responsible for this brazen act."
Another California Nordstrom was hit by a looting mob late Monday, after some 20 people conducted a "smash and grab" attack on the retailer's Los Angeles location at The Grove luxury mall. The LAPD said three individuals were apprehended in connection with that robbery, too, and more details on those arrests are forthcoming.
In reaction to the incidents, Nordstrom said that it would be increasing its security measures, telling Fox Business in a statement, "Given recent incidents at two of our stores and incidents across the industry, we're heightening our in-store security presence and implementing additional protective measures to keep everyone safe."
The company said "This includes positioning security personnel inside and outside of our stores and working closely with mall security and law enforcement to anticipate and minimize risk."
The looting mobs in California have been an ongoing problem for retailers in the state, and not just for Nordstrom.
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On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom urged mayors to "step up" and take action to address the attacks. "These people need to be held to account," the governor said. "We need to investigate these crimes. We need to break up these crime rings. We need to make an example out of these folks."
Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.