Repeated theft leads to felony charge

A law that was passed a number of years ago raised the threshold for theft to be classified as a felony to $900 or more in stolen goods, which has led to some unintended but clearly foreseeable consequences.  Thieves have started going into a store – sometimes with calculators – and stealing less than the $900 limit. This was in case they were stopped and detained by store security, (which is getting to be rarer all the time), the thieves only be cited for a misdemeanor and released.

“Stores are making the decision that it is better to take the loss in merchandise, which is often 100% or more marked-up, than risk an incident that could lead to legal and insurance liability if store employees try to apprehend a thief and the incident gets violent and someone is injured,” said Ken White, who was formerly a security vendor for Target and Mervyn’s retail stores in the Inland Empire as well as clubs, bars and restaurants. “Back in the 1990’s and into the early 2000’s we went ahead and apprehended shoplifters and the police would respond when we called them, but that all began to change 15 – 20 years ago.”

The San Bernardino Police Department however made an arrest of a perpetrator who clearly misunderstood the law.  If a thief repeatedly commits the crime in the same place, then that can be charged as felony if the amount stolen exceeds the limit of $900.

According to San Bernardino PD, Stephen Lugo would routinely enter the Marshall’s Department store located at 741 W 2nd Street, select merchandise and exit the business without attempting to pay for the merchandise.

Throughout the course of the investigation Police officers learned the suspect had stolen more than $2,600 of merchandise. Officers identified Lugo as the suspect responsible for the thefts. On September 22 officers saw Lugo in the area of the business and took him into custody without incident. Lugo assisted officers with recovering some of the stolen property.

According to Sgt. Thomas, the public information officer for the San Bernardino Police Department, Lugo has likely already been released. “Technically, you are supposed to be held for a felony,” said Thomas. “But perpetrators are generally not being held for this type of crime.”

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office has reviewed the case and Lugo has been charged with grand theft.