A defocused police car sits behind crime scene tape with flashing lights at night.
Ajax9/Getty Images/iStockphotoA San Francisco woman pleaded not guilty in a retail theft case where she is accused of helping steal about $15,000’s worth of merchandise from the Bath & Body Works location in Westfield Mall, said officials Friday.
At her Thursday arraignment, the woman was charged with several felony counts — one of organized retail theft and six of grand theft — and nine charges of misdemeanor shoplifting, the SF District Attorney’s Office said in a Friday news release.
The woman was allegedly involved in stealing merchandise 20 separate times between March 30 and Oct. 29, the SF DA’s office said. She was booked into the San Francisco County Jail No. 2 on Monday night without bail, according to jail records. “If convicted of all charges she faces up to three years in State Prison,” the release said.
The suspect will be due in court next on Monday at 9 a.m. While she awaits trial, she will remain in custody because of the “public safety risk,” the DA’s office said.
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San Francisco and the state of California established a new grant program last year that provides money to law enforcement in various cities to crack down on retail theft.
In September 2023, SF received $17.3 million in grant funding, and $15.3 million of the funds were allocated to the police department and $2 million was given to the District Attorney’s Office, according to a Tuesday news release from the city.
SF Mayor London Breed has also introduced legislation this year to install 400 automated license plate readers intended to help identify retail thieves, the mayor’s office said in the Tuesday news release.
Larceny theft, which refers to an instance when a person leaves a store or passes the opportunity to pay after shoplifting merchandise, is down this year compared with 2022. From the beginning of the year until Nov. 5, 2023, there have been 27,025 reported cases of larceny theft, while there were 30,417 in the same date range in last year, according to data from the San Francisco Police Department.
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“Organized retail theft is a source of deep concern for the residents and businesses of our City,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in Friday’s news release. “This arrest and prosecution reflects our on-going commitment to hold repeat offenders accountable for their actions.”
The DA’s office said the Bath & Body Works theft is an ongoing investigation and additional suspects may be identified. Anyone with information is urged to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444.