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A suspect arrested Saturday in connection with multiple Walgreens and CVS robberies allegedly carried out in plain sight of staff and guards has been charged with 15 counts of robbery, grand theft and burglary.
The suspect, 40-year-old Jean Lugo-Romero, was arrested Saturday morning by Northern Station officers after allegedly attempting to rob the CVS at 499 Haight Street. Now, if the Exam reports through the prosecution, Lugo-Romero has previously been indicted and his charges include two robberies in the same location.
Police say Lugo-Romero is the man seen in the now-national viral video posted to Twitter on June 14 by ABC 7 reporter Lyanne Melendez. The video shows the suspect clearing the shelves of the Walgreens in Gough and Fell in a garbage bag and then riding his Lyft bike out the door past a security guard. According to the OM, Lugo-Romero has been in the same store five times since May 11.
While the nature of crimes, especially petty theft and burglary, changed during the pandemic, the perception that crime has skyrocketed in San Francisco over the past year is not supported by the data. (There were more burglaries in a few neighborhoods, but many other crimes had declined.)
Walgreens has complained about shoplifting at its SF stores in recent years, but the company actually announced the closure of 200 stores nationwide. back in August 2019. That decision came after the company’s quarterly earnings fell 25 percent and Hoodline reported in February 2020 that the SF store closures were part of a larger strategy, but the choice of stores to close may not have been entirely without considering the theft-loss problem, which the 730 Market Street location claimed was about $1,000. per day.
Police have said there is a clear link between thefts like the one Lugo-Romero is accused of and the emergence of a secondary market for certain goods, such as cosmetics.
“Local businesses and convenience stores are the backbone of our community, and we are working to protect San Francisco’s stores and consumers,” District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in a statement following Lugo-Romero’s indictment.
Earlier: Thief in viral video at SF Walgreens arrested after trying to steal again
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