Thieves Target Three 7-Eleven Stores Right After California Gov. Newsom Signs Anti-Crime Measure
Meanwhile, California Proposition 36 (Increase Drug and Theft Penalties and Reduce Homelessness Initiative) is likely to pass in November and help really rein in the lawlessness we have been covering for the past few years.
I have been recounting the increasing lawlessness in California after voters were misled by the falsely labeled “Californians for Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act” (aka Proposition 47) that substantially weakened penalties for theft.
As a result, “smash-and-grab” robberies have been reported all across the state, and voters are poised to consider amending Proposition 47 via a new ballot measure.
As I noted in a previous post, Newsom appears to be beefing up his policy portfolio, which is short on wins, ahead of the 2028 presidential election. So, he recently signed ten bills into law that aim to crack down on retail, auto, and property theft.
“Let’s be clear: this is the most significant legislation to address property crime in modern California history. I thank the bipartisan group of lawmakers, our retail partners, and advocates for putting public safety over politics,” Newsom said during a Friday morning news conference. “While some try to take us back to ineffective and costly policies of the past, these new laws present a better way forward — making our communities safer and providing meaningful tools to help law enforcement arrest criminals and hold them accountable.”
Newsom signed the new laws after he called on lawmakers to address rising retail thefts across the state. This move also comes as Democrats in the state continue to determine how to respond to the increasing public concern about theft.
This is the anti-crime extravaganza Newsom is touting:
- AB 2943: Shoplifting
- AB 3209: Retail Theft
- AB 1779: Theft
- AB 1802: Makes the California Highway Patrol property crimes task force permanent
- AB 1972: Expands the California Highway Patrol’s property crimes task force program to include cargo theft and railroad police.
- SB 905: Theft from a vehicle
- SB 1242: Gives a stiffer sentence to people convicted of starting a fire on a retailer’s property to commit organized theft.
- SB 1416: Creates a sentencing enhancement for selling, exchanging, or returning for value an item acquired through shoplifting, burglary, or theft.
- SB 1144: Requires online marketplaces to collect information from high-volume third-party sellers and grants authority to district attorneys to bring civil actions to enforce violations.
- SB 982: Eliminates an end date on the crime of organized retail theft, allowing prosecution to occur indefinitely.
However, it may be too little, too late. Shortly after the ink was dry on this new rule, a California bike mob ransacked three separate 7-Eleven stores in under 20 minutes.
Approximately 20 bicycling riding thieves targeted the Hollywood area convenience stores two miles apart on Friday night, according to NBC Los Angeles, citing the LAPD.
The brazen bunch broke into each store and stole food and drink items beginning with the 7-Eleven located at 7040 West Sunset Boulevard just after 8 p.m.
The store was left with a broken window.
An employee at a second store near Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave. was allegedly assaulted around 8:16 p.m., the outlet reported.
Convenience stores aren’t the only target. Legos have emerged as the latest hot ticket item for California theft rings.
Two suspects have allegedly stolen more than $100,000 worth of Lego merchandise from six different Southern California stores over the last two months, the L.A. Times reported. One store owner, Whittier resident Katie Leuschner, told the paper that the thieves took approximately $10,000 of product from her store.
Leuschner noted that while she and her husband had seen shoplifters pocket mini figurines before, she was caught off-guard by the smash-and-grab conducted by the two suspects back in May. Reportedly, one broke through the glass door during the early hours with a trash bag to steal mini-figures while the second acted as the getaway driver.
Despite these developments, there is still hope.
Katy Grimes, Editor-in-Chief of the California Globe, notes that the new ballot measure amending the failed Proposition 47 (California Proposition 36, the Increase Drug and Theft Penalties and Reduce Homelessness Initiative) has solid support across the state.
Proposition 36 is the comprehensive and compassionate solution California needs. It directly tackles these challenges with strong incentives for drug treatment, which will reduce homelessness and provide our communities and small businesses with the accountability and consequences necessary to curb repeat offenders. This is why Proposition 36 has strong bipartisan support—it is the real change California needs.”
Today, a new poll was released by the Los Angeles Times//UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies showed wide support with a greater than two to one margin, 56% to 23%. Of the support, Proposition 36 was supported by moderates at 66%, conservative voters at 69-70%, and somewhat liberal voters support Prop 36 at 49%.
This measure is likely to impact crime. Therefore, Newsom’s 10-bill move is a play to stuff some of that success into his policy portfolio.
But we will all know the truth.
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Comments
Kleptocracy.
has no one ever been shopping in Panama?
When I was there, all the items on the shelves were empty boxes.
you put the empty boxes in your cart and went to the checkout and paid.
Then you went around to the back of the store where there was a giant warehouse with locked doors and they would let you in when you showed your receipt.
The stash would Then put all the items you had bought into your cart.
You backed your car into a locked area and took the cart and loaded your items into the car.
You drove away and the staff put all the empty boxes back on the shelves.
This system actually moved quite fast as multiple people could be in the locked area at the same time.
There was no waiting for someone to come unlock the cabinet to give you your item out on the floor
CA doesn’t need a compassionate solution to crime, it need a non-compassionate solution. It needs to make shoplifting illegal for any amount taken, it needs to impose severe punishments that must be enforced by reducing prosecutorial discretion, and it must increase police presence throughout major urban areas. But all this is a pipe dream in CA.
These new rules will be meaningless unless the rules are enforced.
Everyone knows it is racist to arrest offenders.
No, no, no! The Dem playbook says that rules are passed over and over, consistently not enforced, until onerous laws are finally proposed (the ones the Dems really want), THEN they are enforced.
See: gun laws.
The onerous laws only impact law abiding citizens while leaving the criminals to go about their business of ignoring the laws for fun and profit. Even when caught the criminals are often allowed to skate on the penalties enacted with these onerous laws through plea bargaining or simply not being charged with those specific violations to start with.
See: Gun Laws
Eventually, every store in Commufornica will have a “buzz in” door and all the employees will be armed.
Just like jewelry stores, but for deodorant.
I was with you until you stated the employees would be armed. Armed? In CA (OK, not either one CA the US state or CA the country).
Wal-Mart already has deodorant and other toiletries behind a buzz-door.
It will not matter if the anti-self-defense rules are still in place.
Secondly, the buzz in idea, while good, will do nothing but lead to discrimination suits. Not buzzing me in is racist! Or something….
In CA employees get fired for trying to protect business. They are only permitted to take photos and call police who never arrive.
For the record: The store in Oakland that was attacked had essentially a “buzz-in”; they locked the doors in early evening and only provided sales through a pass-through window (like the Detroit liquor stores of the 70s). The crowd of thieves rammed the door with a vehicle and went in… no “buzz” required when you do it that way.
If one were to review the theft laws in the CA penal code c. 2010, they would find that “petty theft” (less than $400 value) became a felony when the crook had a prior conviction for any kind of theft. Also, burglary was “entry with intent to commit theft….”, so all of the current thieves would be subject to burglary charges, it too, a felony (THEN). This applied even when the business was open for business.
The laws recently enacted give thieves 2 “free-bees” before the petty theft becomes a potential felony. So these revisions don’t even make the penalties equivalent to the prior existing laws.
Armed? Is anyone here old enough to recall the “rooftop Koreans”? When someone drops a couple of these violent robbers, there will be something done…..
“Just like jewelry stores, but for deodorant.”
I’m reeling, trying to imagine:
A gang of 20 shoplifters, all riding bicycles (“The Mild Ones”)
Shoplifters who target… LEGO figurines… and the damage exceeds $100K.
This is not even out of Idiocracy. Maybe Fritz The Cat, or Twin Peaks.
“ Newsom’s 10-bill move is a play to stuff some of that success into his policy portfolio.”
This. There’s still two years left in Gruesom’s term, so assuming Prop 36 has an impact, he will take credit for being “tough on crime “ when he inevitably runs for president. And the media will just go along.
Dialing back? Great! Now all California has to do is find the cops to enforce their new laws!
“Shortages are especially acute in California, where declining support for the police has been intensified by legislation and regulatory policies.
….
“Within this context, concerns about becoming a police officer or remaining in policing continue to grow. Officers and future candidates face increased scrutiny because of transparency of personnel files; fear of being prosecuted for shootings; being overworked because of staffing shortages and increased call volumes; lenient district attorneys; lower hiring standards to meet staffing shortages or tougher hiring standards to make it more difficult to be a police officer; potential for civilian or federal oversight; and inept leadership at all levels.
….
The rising cost of living, mortgage rates, inflation, recession, the ability to work remotely, rising violent crime and homelessness were among the reasons. [10] Included in the migration out of California were police officers. One example of many is the three veteran officers from the Orange Police Department who resigned and left the state for similar jobs at a fraction of the pay and benefits because of politics, the cost of living and regulations affecting them and their families.
https://www.police1.com/what-cops-want/beyond-bonuses-how-to-reverse-police-staffing-losses
The old original prop 36 went into force back in 2001. How is the new revised version of prop 36 going to change anything? Appears to be repackaged version of failed policy, It doesn’t address the real issue. The overwhelming majority of these crimes are committed by 12% of the population who have been granted get out of jail free card, in lieu of “reparations”. CA under one party rule, dem super majority. Enjoy the decline.
these are not crimes according to the left
they are part of the reparations that must be paid
the laws etc are for show
Not sure why your comment got down voted.
CA is under control of one party rule, dem super majority. Komrade Kamala home state. Leftists have the belief CA owes “reparations” even though it wasn’t slave state. In CA over 50% prison population was black. According to leftist theory, that is evidence of “systemic racism”. If blacks are only 12% of general population, then prison population should be same. In order to achieve “equity”, leftists in CA have taken the dual strategy of emptying the prisons (during pandemic), and raising the threshold for crimes that would otherwise be worthy of prison time. Combine with defunding police, not cash bail, etc. Long story short, get out of jail free card for homies in the hood.
But since they are lefties so they can’t talk openly about the racial component of their failed policies, because that would be racist or something?
He’s trying to stem the exodus of his tax base.
Too little, too late.
1) Anyone plotting to leave and who would leave, will leave. Why? PTSD. No belief in the people voted for the people who created the problem ever voting for people who will solve the problem.
2) Crime is one of a dozen reasons they are leaving. Taxes, social sanity, and freedom are the other biggies.
3) It is well published by people who fled that the grass is FAR greener on the other side of the red state fence. Why remain a red state prisoner in a blue state?
Also while I applaud them for finally arresting criminals and cracking down on the homeless-lawless drugs-n-anarchy epidemic, they will need to literally abandon all their “compassion” for the real victims here (ie- the criminals) and that is just not in Ca’s DNA. Unlike Wa and Oregon, CA is out of other peoples money to spend. Their best bet is to ship the thugs to Inslee / Ferguson. However LA criminals may not like the northern weather, so that honey trap won’t be as sticky as they need.
So Newsome is basically screwed. I can’t wait until the next budget cycle shows how right I am. Especially with all the white collar layoffs coming up.
Moved from California to Texas several years ago. Almost everything is better. Cost of living much less. People more polite and sensible. Far fewer crazy people. On the minus side: climate is awful compared to California. Too hot or too cold and always too humid. Geography is boring to ugly. Traffic congestion the same and sometimes worse.
In total quality of life far superior to California. What did I get for all those taxes? Nothing. Roads here in far better condition. Please Californians stop coming here and making this place a mess.
.
The exodus is far from over. Though my footprint is Wa, I saw an old classmate note they were fleeing next year after her son graduates.
In talking to former Californians where I’m at now, a lot of them hung on for 2-3 years longer than they wanted to so their kids would graduate with their friends.
Incidentally this is what expedited our move- I wanted my kid to start school here early in middle school and have time to make friends in the new state. This cost us dearly, but was worth it. If we had delayed we may have been stuck through senior year.
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