Shameful.
.
I had to google it and this link below has more details on the bust:
I am curious why the timing is so perfect. Just as the governor said he wants to take a hard stance against these smash-n-grab crimes, this particular case that took this long to come together is ready to be announced to the public.
No problems of this sort in my little slice of heaven. No “traumatized workers.”
Anyone trying to pull this nonsense here would see their personal pronouns changed to “was” or “were.”
Why bother arresting anyone?
What I don’t understand is why the DA has the power to decide whether someone can get zero bail or not. If the law says it should be zero bail, then it’s zero bail. It should not depend on what the DA feels like on that particular day.
Smash and grab is not a violent crime, is it? At least in my naive mind it seems non-violent. So I guess it meets the criteria of zero bail. Why should it not be zero bail just because the governor said we should prosecute and DAs suddenly are feeling pressured to do so even if they don’t agree?
Some of the retail workers have been beaten up.
Either way letting people out after committing a crime signals that no one cares, keep on going. So that’s what they’re going to do - keep on going.
I have to agree with elt1 on this one. It’s going to take vigilante justice to bring this stuff to a halt. The moment that people get shot looting the stores is the moment they’ll think twice about doing it.
One last thought on this, but as much as a lot of packages get stolen, this is really going to nail the coffin on brick-and-mortar stores. Very very quickly. No one seems to rob the UPS trucks at gunpoint. yet.
It may only be the end of brick and mortar in the few places that tolerate this sort of behavior.
Oh and I’ve never bought into the flawed distinction between so-called “property” crimes and violent crime. Human beings have to forgo a certain amount of their finite existence to accumulate property.
Should we take bets on how long until they get looted?
Ok. Been thinking this over. I think they really should’ve spun it differently. As in “Some of our staff have PTSD issues over guns due to unfortunate personal experiences, and we asked them to leave for the safety and psychological wellbeing of all involved.”
In the mind of the victim, there is no difference. No one comes up to you and says “I am unarmed, give me your money.” (Well most of the time… .I’ve heard of one situation where a homeless guy rob-begged a $20 bill off of a friend. But…)
In general, people hand their money or belongings over because they think they might suffer bodily harm or death. And that is violence even if only threatened.
I went to Best Buy in Sunnyvale yesterday. I was surprised to see an armed security guard inside by the entrance. Usually security guards are not armed, but this one was.
I assume it is a deterrent to the recent wave of smash and grab burglaries. However, I’m not so sure how safe or experienced the security guard is with the fire arm.
As for the general crime, I see the issue, but don’t know what is the solution. The prisons are overcrowded and cost tax payers a fortune. So now, police and justice system don’t even bother with property crimes (burglaries, car break-ins, bike thefts, etc).
I knew someone who was a former police officer and I think also military who then became a security guard. You might never have realized it since he had a very mellow attitude. But I agree it’s probably hit or miss 
Here in AZ, to save on prisons, we outsource to a private company (CoreCivic). Non-union.