Upland police searching for women who hid more than $1,000 in alcohol up their skirts during theft from Upland store
Police are searching for a trio of women who allegedly made off with over $1,000 worth of stolen alcohol from an Upland liquor store over the weekend, what police are saying is just another incident in a troubling spike in retail theft plaguing the area.
It happened on Sunday evening at GK Market and Liquor, located in the 1400 block of E. Foothill Boulevard, where the store's manager says the three women acted extremely friendly upon entering the store.
He says that one of the three women was asking questions about different bottles of alcohol, which he was too late to realize was a tactic to distract him.
"They noticed the most expensive bottles of champagne on the shelves and went straight for it," said the store's manager, Sam. "Each of 'em took turns to slide the bottles under their dresses, the kangaroo pouches, as they called them."
Police say that the women used concealed pouches to hide evidence of their crime underneath their dresses, taking of which 15 bottles of Moet & Chandon champagne — worth around $1,200.
"It's tough of course," Sam said. "You just take a hit as a small business owner."
He's far from the first to feel the impact from a troubling rise in similar crime plaguing Upland. Police say that as a city, they've seen a 20% increase in shoplifting in just the last year.
It's because of this that they're intent on catching the suspects, blasting their faces across social media.
Earlier this week, three females entered a family owned convenient store, two went to the wine section while the third went to talk to the clerk to distract him. The two in the wine section then grabbed 15 bottles of wine and placed them into a makeshift kangaroo pouch that was under one of the female’s dress. All three then decided not to buy anything and left with the merchandise, totaling $1,125. They were in a blue Honda Odyssey with an Oregon plate. If you know the identity of any of the females, please contact our Detective Bureau. Our city has seen a 20% increase 📈 in shoplifting cases within the last year, we will continue our efforts identifying and arresting any thieves who victimize businesses in our city.
Posted by Upland Police Department on Friday, September 13, 2024
Investigators say that the three women got into a blue Honda Odyssey minivan with an Oregon license plate as they fled the scene.
While they say they have numerous leads already under investigation, they're asking anyone who may know more to contact them with additional information that can help lead them to making arrests.