With Victoria's Secret hit hard by shoplifters, police increasing its presence at Bayshore Town Center
After more than a dozen retail thefts at Victoria's Secret in the past month, Glendale police are stepping up patrols in the area and working with the corporate office to beef up security for the Bayshore Town Center store.
Many of these were not small thefts, either. Most of them were what police call "grab-and-go" thefts, where the shoplifters take hundreds or even thousands of dollars of merchandise off a front table and then flee to a running car waiting outside.
A grab-and-go theft at about 12:32 p.m. Nov. 21, for example, lost the store more than $1,000 in merchandise, according to Glendale police records.
Five days later, at about 9 p.m., a woman stole more than $1,200 in merchandise in only 30 seconds.
The next day, Nov. 27, was a particularly bad day for the store. Someone stole 30 pairs of pants and 30 pullover sweatshirts at about noon. Then, at about 4:35 p.m., a man and woman stole $3,000 worth of Pink merchandise. Later, at about 8 p.m., two women stole another $450 in merchandise, according to police.
The following day, Nov. 28, police arrested a 27-year-old woman who tried to steal two bottles of perfume from the store at about 7 p.m.
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High-speed pursuits
The biggest theft came Nov. 29, when three suspects stole 152 clothing items valued at $7,000. Two Glendale squads tried to box the car in, but the suspects were able to back up and drive around the squad cars. In trying to dodge police, the suspected thieves crashed into the car parked behind it, according to police.
Officers threw down stop sticks, but they were not effective in puncturing the car's tires. After chasing the car for 2.3 miles, Glendale officers abandoned the pursuit at the I-43 on-ramp at Silver Spring Drive.
Another police pursuit on Dec. 2 ended with a crash and an arrest. After only about five seconds in the store, two suspects left Victoria's Secret with 63 articles of clothing worth $3,371. They both got into the passenger side of a car with no license plate.
A Glendale officer pursued the vehicle down Port Washington Road. The officer gave up the pursuit near Estabrook Boulevard, but the car continued driving recklessly and crashed into construction barrels about three blocks later near Capitol Drive. The stolen clothing was recovered from the car.
After 10 minutes of searching the area, police found one of the suspects, a 28-year-old Milwaukee man, hiding under a porch, according to police. He was arrested for retail theft and resisting an officer.
Increased police presence
The uptick in grab-and-go thefts has prompted Glendale police officers to patrol the area more often. Police have also been working with Victoria's Secret's corporate office to enhance security at the Bayshore store.
On Dec. 3, a police officer noticed a running, occupied van parked in the fire lane in front of Victoria's Secret. The vehicle owner was arrested on a warrant.
On Dec. 4, a police officer saw a car parked near the store with plates that did not list to a vehicle. The driver was arrested on a warrant.
On Dec. 5, an officer saw two women get out of a running vehicle with no license plates near the store. When they walked out of the store with armfuls of merchandise, they were arrested.
On Dec. 8, a man was arrested at about 11:35 a.m. after he walked out of the store with $508 in merchandise.
Shoplifters were also arrested after a grab-and-go theft on Dec. 10.
