Gang Of Thieves Swarms Louis Vuitton Store, Swipes $100,000+ In Handbags
PALO ALTO, Calif. (CBS San Francisco) -- Nearly a dozen thieves working together swarmed into a Louis Vuitton store in Palo Alto, stealing more than $100,000 in handbags. It's the second such theft at the Stanford Shopping Center in three weeks.
Palo Alto police said the latest incident happened on Monday at about 5:30 p.m. A coordinated group of eleven suspects ran into the store and grabbed 36 handbags, running through mall and fleeing in five vehicles before officers arrived.
Witnesses were only able to describe the suspects as black males and females, possibly in their late teens or early twenties, all wearing face coverings, police said. No one was hurt and no weapons were used,
The five vehicles used in the getaway were a gray Lexus sedan, a gray Infinity SUV, a white Audi sedan, a black four-door Hyundai sedan, and a red two-door Honda sedan. No surveillance video was immediately available from police.
A witness was able to photograph one of the suspects as she fled through the mall carrying stolen handbags.
On May 19, a similar theft happened Neiman Marcus store at the Stanford Shopping Center, where a group of at least ten suspects stole more than $150,000 in handbags, although police said the vehicles used in that incident were different than the one at the Louis Vuitton store.
On May 18 in San Francisco, a group of theives ransacked a Saks Fifth Avenue store in Union Square, making off with $90,000 in merchandise.
Palo Alto police were working with regional partners to see if the same group of suspects may be connected to other similar burglaries.
Anyone with information about this incident was asked to call Palo Alto police at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.