Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Two examples of why Walmart leaving Parkway Plaza and Sherman Heights

Homeless and immigrants on Imperial Ave.blamed

"They were even stealing yesterday" during the store's recent liquidation sales.
"They were even stealing yesterday" during the store's recent liquidation sales.

On January 23, a female entered the Walmart on Fletcher Parkway and packed her shopping cart with different products, according to the El Cajon Police Department. Around 6 pm that Tuesday, the woman pushed the cart outside the big-box store without paying and loaded the stolen merchandise into what witnesses said was a white-colored Nissan Sentra driven by a female accomplice. By the time the police  arrived at the Walmart parking lot, which the Parkway Plaza mall patrons shared, he two suspects — Lex Smith, 28, and Elaine Bouis-Medrano, 29 — were gone. But they weren't too far.

Mike Vasquez, who frequents the Walmart in Grossmont Center. "Every time I go to Walmart, there's always a police unit outside."


The two drove around the mall, parked, and entered the Aldi grocery store at about 6:30 pm. "One woman filled a shopping cart with merchandise and left the store without paying," reads the police report. "The female punched an employee who tried to stop the theft, causing minor injury." The accomplice exited the grocery store and "staged" the getaway vehicle closer to the 67 freeway onramp.

The El Cajon Police officers "quickly arrived and detained the women, and found their vehicle loaded with stolen merchandise," continues the police report. "The women were identified as being involved in both incidents" mentioned above and "were booked into Las Colinas Detention Facility on felony charges."

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Good for them thieves!" exclaimed Mike Vasquez, who lives in La Mesa and frequents the Walmart in Grossmont Center. "Every time I go to Walmart, there's always a police unit outside. Honestly, I think the self-checkout stands are easy marks for the thieves."  

"Self-checkout accounted for just under 30 percent of total transactions in 2022," Grabango, a checkout technology company, said in a CSPdailynews piece. "Based on a market size of nearly $1 trillion and a partial shrink rate of 3.5 percent, self-checkout machines cost food retailers more than $10 billion in lost profits annually."

There are many self-checkout stands at local Walmarts.

In 2023, Walmart closed 24 big-box stores around the U.S. due to underperformance in sales and theft as the reasons for mass closures — according to www.dcourier.com. "These stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years," explained a spokesperson from Walmart in the article.

And the Walmart closings continue into the new year here in San Diego County. The Walmart Neighborhood Market on Imperial Avenue and 21st is shutting down. And the Walmart on Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon — the same one mentioned above — is  closing up shop.  

And even with the stores blowing out products at discounted prices, the thievery continued. "They were even stealing yesterday," said Salvador Gudino during the store's recent liquidation sales. "The neighborhood is getting worse every day here." Vance Smith, who lives in the Sherman Heights area, agreed; he continued, "Most of the thefts were from the homeless and the immigrants that hang out around the area. Seen it too many times. [They] just walk in and take what they want and walk out past security and sell what was stolen." 

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Aaron Stewart trades Christmas wonders for his first new music in 15 years

“Just because the job part was done, didn’t mean the passion had to die”
Next Article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
"They were even stealing yesterday" during the store's recent liquidation sales.
"They were even stealing yesterday" during the store's recent liquidation sales.

On January 23, a female entered the Walmart on Fletcher Parkway and packed her shopping cart with different products, according to the El Cajon Police Department. Around 6 pm that Tuesday, the woman pushed the cart outside the big-box store without paying and loaded the stolen merchandise into what witnesses said was a white-colored Nissan Sentra driven by a female accomplice. By the time the police  arrived at the Walmart parking lot, which the Parkway Plaza mall patrons shared, he two suspects — Lex Smith, 28, and Elaine Bouis-Medrano, 29 — were gone. But they weren't too far.

Mike Vasquez, who frequents the Walmart in Grossmont Center. "Every time I go to Walmart, there's always a police unit outside."


The two drove around the mall, parked, and entered the Aldi grocery store at about 6:30 pm. "One woman filled a shopping cart with merchandise and left the store without paying," reads the police report. "The female punched an employee who tried to stop the theft, causing minor injury." The accomplice exited the grocery store and "staged" the getaway vehicle closer to the 67 freeway onramp.

The El Cajon Police officers "quickly arrived and detained the women, and found their vehicle loaded with stolen merchandise," continues the police report. "The women were identified as being involved in both incidents" mentioned above and "were booked into Las Colinas Detention Facility on felony charges."

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Good for them thieves!" exclaimed Mike Vasquez, who lives in La Mesa and frequents the Walmart in Grossmont Center. "Every time I go to Walmart, there's always a police unit outside. Honestly, I think the self-checkout stands are easy marks for the thieves."  

"Self-checkout accounted for just under 30 percent of total transactions in 2022," Grabango, a checkout technology company, said in a CSPdailynews piece. "Based on a market size of nearly $1 trillion and a partial shrink rate of 3.5 percent, self-checkout machines cost food retailers more than $10 billion in lost profits annually."

There are many self-checkout stands at local Walmarts.

In 2023, Walmart closed 24 big-box stores around the U.S. due to underperformance in sales and theft as the reasons for mass closures — according to www.dcourier.com. "These stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years," explained a spokesperson from Walmart in the article.

And the Walmart closings continue into the new year here in San Diego County. The Walmart Neighborhood Market on Imperial Avenue and 21st is shutting down. And the Walmart on Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon — the same one mentioned above — is  closing up shop.  

And even with the stores blowing out products at discounted prices, the thievery continued. "They were even stealing yesterday," said Salvador Gudino during the store's recent liquidation sales. "The neighborhood is getting worse every day here." Vance Smith, who lives in the Sherman Heights area, agreed; he continued, "Most of the thefts were from the homeless and the immigrants that hang out around the area. Seen it too many times. [They] just walk in and take what they want and walk out past security and sell what was stolen." 

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

3 Tips for Creating a Cozy and Inviting Living Room in San Diego

Next Article

San Diego beaches not that nice to dogs

Bacteria and seawater itself not that great
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader