Daylight theft: Masked robbers steal $35k worth of merchandise from Apple store on Black Friday

Police asserted that the use of violence transforms a shoplifting burglary into a robbery as nobody was hurt and no weapons were observed during the incident. Security personnel observed the robbers fleeing in a red Mazda3 hatchback as they were driving north on US Highway 101. The police said they are seeking two black males in their late teens or early 20s but have not yet made any arrests as reported by New York Post. The first suspect was dressed in a gray hoodie and blue jeans while the second was dressed in a blue hoodie and black pants. Both are seen in the footage removing devices from store displays while toting backpacks.

In 2016, criminals crashed a rental car into the store’s front and made off with thousands of dollars worth of goods. Then in 2018, the same store was robbed twice within a 24-hour period and over $100,000 worth of products were taken.

Since the pandemic started, similar burglaries have surged in California, according to Lt Jake Pinkas of the Monterey Police Department. According to Pinkas, Monterey County started to notice that the crimes were a regular issue in the fall of 2021. “You started to see the most cheeky [robberies], where they bring tools to pick up phones or laptops or drill glass,” Pinkas said to The New York Daily Paper. “It definitely seems to have started after the pandemic year 2020 and continued into 2021.” He claimed that in October of last year, almost $40,000 worth of goods were blatantly stolen from another Apple store.