Are recent thefts of designer perfume, sunglasses, tees, and underwear more common, or is it just social media?
On March 9, Diana Llamas posted a video on TikTok of a person allegedly stealing from the Ulta Beauty store at The Plaza at the Border mall in San Ysidro. The alleged thief was wearing a black bandanna covering her face and a grey hoodie, white sweat pants, and grey sneakers and stuffed an aqua-colored Marshall's bag with products. The video made its rounds on Instagram, where one viewer noticed, "She took my favorite perfume, too — Chance Chanel Eau Tendre. I recognize that box anywhere." Ulta Beauty sells Chanel perfume for $100; they sell high-end makeup from the Kylie Cosmetics, MAC Cosmetics, and ColourPop lines.
Llamas, who posted the incriminating video on TikTok, said the "solo thief quickly moved throughout @UltaBeauty and filled her bag with merchandise. The security guard quietly watched as he followed her around the store. Customers paused their shopping and witnessed this woman in action."
Llamas's video pulled nearly 300,000 views and added that the "thief fled" and that "SDPD arrived approximately seven minutes later."
Another viewer, who goes by the Poetry1995 handle on the TikTok video-sharing app, said, "This happens daily now because people see how easy it is on social media."
Within the 1200 comments under the viral post, others condemned the security guard for not doing anything.
Bill Smith saw the video; he's a used designer fashion and perfume vendor at Kobey's Swap Meet. "People try to steal my shit all the time," he said in an interview. "So I mark my stuff, and if I see it on Facebook Marketplace or eBay, and I see the same mark (with a Sharpie), I would call the police and make a TikTok out of them too."
Smith saw a March 21 Instagram post of two men caught at Fashion Valley Mall when they were apprehended after stealing Versace underwear. On Instagram and TikTok young men and women are depicted sagging their pants and exposing designer underwear. "That style was popular in the 1990s when Aliya rocked Tommy Hilfiger underwear and Marky Mark wore Calvin Kleins. So these thieves who are caught on TikTok or IG would have posted themselves of their stolen goods on social anyways."
In February, two men were indicted for a slew of thefts at higher-end stores across the county; the thefts totaled more than $200,000 of goods, many of which were designer sunglasses from Sunglass Huts, within a three-month binge, according to the Patch news outlet. The duo was sentenced to a little more than three and a half years at a state prison. San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan added in a statement that robberies of this style have been "on the increase in the past five years."
In January, brazen burglars at two HypeBeast-type stores stole trendy "drip" or clothing and sneakers but were caught on surveillance cameras. Jubie Drip in Fletcher Parkway Mall was hit for some high-end tees, and Bepul Kicks was "hit by a few people wearing hoodies where they grabbed a bunch of clothes, then dipped," continued Smith. "I feel for the businesses; like I was saying, they get me all the time when I set up at events. But I blame this blatant thievery on social media. Kids see how easy it is to steal from us older dudes or at the mall, especially when they (the thieves) come in big-ass groups. The funny thing is, well, not so funny, is they are stealing to "flex" the shit on the Gram or TikTok."
Are recent thefts of designer perfume, sunglasses, tees, and underwear more common, or is it just social media?
On March 9, Diana Llamas posted a video on TikTok of a person allegedly stealing from the Ulta Beauty store at The Plaza at the Border mall in San Ysidro. The alleged thief was wearing a black bandanna covering her face and a grey hoodie, white sweat pants, and grey sneakers and stuffed an aqua-colored Marshall's bag with products. The video made its rounds on Instagram, where one viewer noticed, "She took my favorite perfume, too — Chance Chanel Eau Tendre. I recognize that box anywhere." Ulta Beauty sells Chanel perfume for $100; they sell high-end makeup from the Kylie Cosmetics, MAC Cosmetics, and ColourPop lines.
Llamas, who posted the incriminating video on TikTok, said the "solo thief quickly moved throughout @UltaBeauty and filled her bag with merchandise. The security guard quietly watched as he followed her around the store. Customers paused their shopping and witnessed this woman in action."
Llamas's video pulled nearly 300,000 views and added that the "thief fled" and that "SDPD arrived approximately seven minutes later."
Another viewer, who goes by the Poetry1995 handle on the TikTok video-sharing app, said, "This happens daily now because people see how easy it is on social media."
Within the 1200 comments under the viral post, others condemned the security guard for not doing anything.
Bill Smith saw the video; he's a used designer fashion and perfume vendor at Kobey's Swap Meet. "People try to steal my shit all the time," he said in an interview. "So I mark my stuff, and if I see it on Facebook Marketplace or eBay, and I see the same mark (with a Sharpie), I would call the police and make a TikTok out of them too."
Smith saw a March 21 Instagram post of two men caught at Fashion Valley Mall when they were apprehended after stealing Versace underwear. On Instagram and TikTok young men and women are depicted sagging their pants and exposing designer underwear. "That style was popular in the 1990s when Aliya rocked Tommy Hilfiger underwear and Marky Mark wore Calvin Kleins. So these thieves who are caught on TikTok or IG would have posted themselves of their stolen goods on social anyways."
In February, two men were indicted for a slew of thefts at higher-end stores across the county; the thefts totaled more than $200,000 of goods, many of which were designer sunglasses from Sunglass Huts, within a three-month binge, according to the Patch news outlet. The duo was sentenced to a little more than three and a half years at a state prison. San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan added in a statement that robberies of this style have been "on the increase in the past five years."
In January, brazen burglars at two HypeBeast-type stores stole trendy "drip" or clothing and sneakers but were caught on surveillance cameras. Jubie Drip in Fletcher Parkway Mall was hit for some high-end tees, and Bepul Kicks was "hit by a few people wearing hoodies where they grabbed a bunch of clothes, then dipped," continued Smith. "I feel for the businesses; like I was saying, they get me all the time when I set up at events. But I blame this blatant thievery on social media. Kids see how easy it is to steal from us older dudes or at the mall, especially when they (the thieves) come in big-ass groups. The funny thing is, well, not so funny, is they are stealing to "flex" the shit on the Gram or TikTok."
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