Women Attack Stockton Vendor, Steal Valentine's Baskets
STOCKTON (CBS13) - Love was not in the air at a family-run stand in Stockton on Wednesday night when female robbers attacked a vendor and stole Valentine's Day gift baskets.
Once the women running the stand at El Dorado Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard realized they were being robbed, one of them quickly jumped into action.
"That's not right to come and they don't care if they hurt somebody," Juanita Andrade said.
Juanita said she couldn't believe her eyes. Three young women first attacked and then ran away with large baskets of Valentine's Day goodies for sale at the stand.
"They pushed my friend," she said. "That's why I was so mad. She was screaming."
That's when Juanita said she decided to go after the thieves. All but one of the women packed into a getaway car that took off driving the wrong way down a one-way street.
The other one "dropped the perfume and the chocolates, just dropped them in the street," Juanita said.
The incident unfolded in front of Juanita's 8-year-old daughter.
"She was scared. She said, 'Mommy! Mommy!' I said, 'It's OK, it's OK,'" Juanita said.
The women got away with about $100 worth of Valentine's Day treats.
Shoppers picking up Valentine's goodies Thursday were shocked to hear a trio of women targeted the stand.
"Well, I think they need some tough love," Andy Miller said. "If you've got to steal to give yourself a gift, you need something else going in."
After the robbery, the women called in extra relatives to help keep an eye out for thieves. Police described the three assailants as black women ages 20-25, wearing all black.
