SAN FRANCISCO — A woman is accused of stealing more than $40,000 in merchandise during 120 visits to a Target store in San Francisco over a 13-month period, authorities said.
Aziza Graves was charged with eight felony counts of grand theft and 120 misdemeanor counts of petty theft on Wednesday in connection with items taken from the store between October 2020 to November 2021, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Graves was arrested at the store by San Francisco police on Tuesday, the newspaper reported.
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott described Graves as “a particularly brazen and prolific retail theft offender.”
Today, through the investigation we led--& w/ the help of Target & SFPD--we filed charges against the woman who stole from Target in 100+ incidents.
— SF DISTRICT ATTORNEY (@SFDAOffice) November 18, 2021
Our office is committed to stopping organized retail theft--including by dismantling fencing networks.https://t.co/rd2X9jkuJD
According to a statement from District Attorney Chesa Boudin, Graves would allegedly use the store’s self-checkout kiosks to scan merchandise and then pay small amounts, such as $1 in cash, or in some instances, one cent, KNTV reported. After scanning, Graves left without completing the payment, Boudin said.
Breaking news: @SFDAOffice operation results in arrest of prolific retail thief.
— Chesa Boudin 博徹思 (@chesaboudin) November 17, 2021
Our office will be charging her with more than 100 separate thefts from Target.
Thank you to SFPD for assisting with the arrest.
More information coming soon.
According to Boudin, Graves stole laundry detergent, among other items, that are frequently stolen and resold for profit, the Chronicle reported. Grand theft refers to “money, labor, or real or personal property taken” with a value exceeding $950, according to the California Legislative Information website.
Target’s Asset Protection Team reached out to the district attorney’s office and asked authorities to investigate Graves, according to the Chronicle.
Target announced in July that it was cutting hours at nearly all of its San Francisco locations due to a sharp rise in retail crime, KTVU reported. Another retailer, Walgreens, has closed five locations in San Francisco in an effort to curb “rampant shoplifting,” the television station reported.
Scott said he hopes the case against Graves “sends a strong message to would-be shoplifters that their lawless conduct won’t be tolerated in San Francisco,” the Chronicle reported.
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