Six charged in San Francisco drug store theft
SAN FRANCISCO -- A group of people walking toward a store with empty bags triggered the suspicions of an off-duty San Francisco police sergeant and led to charges of organized retail theft 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 in merchandise -- makeup, diapers, bath and body products, batteries, vitamins, and various other items -- from a CVS store in the 700 block of Portola Drive, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office said in a press release. Two of the men had been released from custody on another pending felony case.
The sergeant was driving near the store about 8 p.m. on May 24 and watched as the group entered and then chaotically left the store, with one suspect pushing a shopping cart full of goods, police said in a separate press release Thursday.
The sergeant relayed the information to other officers who responded to the area.
The suspects were charged with felony commercial burglary, felony grand theft, felony vandalism and misdemeanor organized retail theft.
Although charges have been filed, the case remains under active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department tip line at (415) 575-4444 or text to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.