The Apple Store crime spree continues in California.
While another Apple Store robbery in the state may not be a shock, the number of times this particular store has been robbed certainly is. Monday’s robbery of the Apple Store in Roseville marked the fourth time in 20 days that the outlet has been burglarized — and the second in just 24 hours!
Thieves carried out the latest snatch-and-grab theft in the Roseville Galleria mall at 11 a.m. Monday. They stole iPhones and Macs, then escaped in a getaway car. This followed hot on the heels of a 7 p.m. Sunday robbery. Together, the thieves snatched goods with a retail value of around $20,000.
“In most of the cases, you can tell the crew has a plan and they’re organized,” Roseville police spokesperson Rob Baquera said. “There must be some market out there for these phones because in most cases these are floor model phones that don’t operate like a normal cell phone.”
The Apple Store crime wave continues
Apple Store robberies in California are becoming alarmingly common. Other locations to be targeted include Emeryville, Santa Rosa, Marin County and Fresno.
While the thieves have mostly gotten away with the crimes so far, this isn’t an absolute rule. During an attempted robbery last month at the Apple Store at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, customers performed a citizen’s arrest on two would-be thieves. Police later arrested a third suspect.
Apple has tried to make its display items unattractive to thieves by installing special versions of its software on display devices. They stop working if a demo unit is stolen from a store.
However, this strategy seems not to be working. Recently, San Francisco Police Officers Association President Tony Montoya said that one deterrent would be having uniformed police officers on-site. He pointed out that stores in San Francisco with police on patrol have so far escaped being targeted by thieves.
Source: KCRA
