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Target restricts opening hours amidst increase in theft
KTVU's Christien Kafton on Target stores in San Francisco limiting their opening hours due to an increase in theft.
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced Wednesday that an alleged serial shoplifter is responsible for committing more than 100 separate thefts from Target.
Boudin said his office conducted an operation that resulted in the arrest of the "prolific retail thief."
The district attorney's office has filed 128 charges against Aziza Graves for 120 incidents where she allegedly stole items worth a combined total value $40,000.
She faces eight felony counts of grand theft and 120 misdemeanor counts of petty theft. The shoplifting incidents all occurred at the Stonestown Target between October of 2020 and November of 2021.
The D.A. office's investigation led to Graves arrest on Tuesday at the Stonestown Target. They said in nearly all the instances of shoplifting, Graves used the self checkout kiosks, submitted nominal cash payments of one dollar and in some cases, one cent. Then she would then leave the kiosk without completing the transaction.
"We believe that the products she was stealing were then being sold and resold throughout the city and the broader Bay Area," Boudin told KTVU. "In this case it was a lot of detergent and that is something that is commonly stolen. It has high value and it can be resold and transported easily. And that is one of the products she would steal on a regular basis."
Boudin, who is facing being recalled in an upcoming special election, praised his office's leadership and coordination with SFPD.
"We are committed to stopping those who participate in organized retail theft, including by dismantling the fencing networks that make this type of crime profitable," Boudin said in a statement.
Boudin said the scale of the operation Graves was involved in makes it clear she was selling her products to fencing networks. These products are often for sale at flea markets, online or shipped overseas.
Chief of police Bill Scott got in on the praise and added that when police work with the D.A.'s office it, "sends a strong message to would-be shoplifters that their lawless conduct won’t be tolerated in San Francisco."
Target loss prevention also cooperated with the D.A.'s office and law enforcement in this investigation and a stake out to catch the alleged serial shoplifter.
Target announced in July that it was cutting hours at nearly all of its San Francisco locations amid a sharp rise in retail crime.
Another retailer, Walgreens, has also taken measures to curb what it calls "rampant shoplifting" at its San Francisco branches. The drugstore recently ceased operations at five stores around the city as promised in October.
Graves arraignment is scheduled for Thursday. The D.A.'s office said they are working on at least a half a dozen more cases tied to fencing operations. More arrests are expected to be announced soon.