SAN FRANCISCO – A group of people walking to a store with empty bags raised the suspicions of an off-duty San Francisco police sergeant and led to organized retail theft charges against six people, prosecutors said Friday.
Three men and three women, ranging in age from 19 to 25, were accused of stealing more than $3,000 worth of merchandise – makeup, diapers, bath and body products, batteries, vitamins and various other items – from a CVS store in the United States. 700 block of Portola Drive, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. Two of the men had been released on another pending felony case.
The sergeant drove near the store around 8 p.m. on May 24 and watched as the group entered the store and then exited chaotically, with one suspect pushing a shopping cart full of merchandise, police said in a separate news release Thursday.
The sergeant relayed the information to other officers who responded to the area.
The suspects were charged with commercial burglary, grand theft, vandalism and organized retail theft.
Although charges have been filed, the case remains actively investigated. Anyone with information is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department tip line at (415) 575-4444 or text TIP411 and start the message with SFPD.
