Thieves snatching merchandise from stores across California

FRESNO, Calif. -- All across California, thieves have been caught on surveillance video being bold and brazen.

Ryan Hall is the general manager at Jack's Urban Eats in Northwest Fresno. His restaurant is one door away from Lululemon, which was the target of grand theft Sunday when a group of women stole nearly $17,000 worth of merchandise.

Tuesday, while sending an email to his boss about that crime, Hall happened to glance over at his surveillance monitor and saw the thieves returning back for more.

"Four people got out of the vehicle that fit the description and I saw them pull out four big duffle bags and make their way down to Lululemon," Hall said.

Hall quickly called police and rushed out the door to help. Cameras inside the retail store showed him walking in and the bandits moments later rushing out.

"I literally just yelled stop leave the bags the cops are on their way," he said.

Over the past couple of months, several incidents like this in the Central Valley have taken place. Four suspects in early July snatched $24,000 worth of goods from the Apple store inside Fashion Fair.

Then in June, police began the search for the suspects responsible for burglarizing stores for cigarettes. One of those suspects, 36-year-old Daniel Borchardt, was arrested Wednesday.

But authorities believe the problem will likely be ongoing because of the penalties in place for property crimes.

"It appears that people are emboldened by the fact that they know they are not going to face severe consequences for their behavior," said Sgt. Walter Boston with Fresno Police.