NYC council members blame ‘lack of enforcement’ for shoplifting after CVS employee allegedly kills serial thief

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Metro

By Nolan Hicks

July 7, 2023 | 6:23 p.m.

New York City Council members on both sides of the aisle blamed lack of enforcement after a CVS employee stabbed a serial shoplifter to death in Manhattan, a less-than-subtle search at Manhattan Liberal District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The fury erupted hours after Scotty Enoe, 46, fatally stabbed serial thief Charles Brito, 50, after he was struck early on Thursday, making it the latest in a disturbing string of murders by self-defense in recent months.

I’m sorry the man died. But I cannot exist in a world where it is claimed that endemic theft without consequence can continue in perpetuity, Minority Leader Joe Borelli fumed on Friday.

Can Alvin Bragg help with this? It’s not exactly capers, he just chooses not to sue and we end up with vigilante justice.

New York’s lax laws eliminated bail for most crimes, including petty larceny.

Brito, who had 16 prior arrests, mostly for petty larceny, had been free to continue his shoplifting spree when he was killed.

Council members have called for a closer look at shoplifting following the murder of a shoplifter in a CVS. Christopher Sadowski

Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks, chair of the Public Safety Committee, agreed that failure to prosecute retail theft ruins the local economy, public safety and quality of life for all New Yorkers.

Mayor Eric Adams announced an anti-shoplifting plan in May. Steve Sands/NewYorkNewswire/Bauer-Griffin/Shutterstock

Retail theft is a major concern throughout the city. Failure to enforce and mitigate shoplifting as a crime only makes it a more widespread problem, the Staten Island Democrat pointed out.

In Queens, Democratic Councilman Robert Holden said District Attorney Melinda Katz has teamed up with the NYPD and local stores in three precincts to ban frequent shoplifters from stores they may have touched under of the State Trespass Act.

Scotty Enoe, 46, stabbed the would-be thief, 50, who was trying to take off with Gatorade and cream from a 24-hour drug store in [email protected]

We need to start doing something about this retail theft because it is out of control, he said, pointing to the CVS case.

Robberies in New York State are charged with misdemeanors provided the stolen items are collectively worth less than $1,000 and no weapon was used, a classification that makes felonies ineligible for pretrial detention under state bail laws enacted in 2019.

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