Share and Follow
TWO men allegedly stole thousands of dollars worth of items from multiple CVS stores, carrying them out in birthday bags.
The pair has been dubbed the “Birthday Bag Bandits,” after they allegedly stole from three CVS locations in Pennsylvania, cops said.
A CVS in Amber, a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, was the first to be burgled on April 3, according to ABC affiliate WPVI.
The suspects allegedly filled CVS gift bags with $1,000 worth of merchandise, police said.
Later the same day, police said the men allegedly hit another location in Richboro in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — the two stores are about 35 minutes from each other.
They again used birthday bags, but this time they allegedly stole about $4,000 worth of over-the-counter medications.
The pair is also accused of robbing a CVS in Bensalem in Bucks County.
Police said the men were fleeing in a dark-colored, four-door sedan.
‘NOT RIGHT’
Local Bucks County customers are stuck feeling upset about the alleged crimes.
“I feel sorry for those people, they have no morals,” said Debra Devlin, to CBS News.
“Why are they doing that, because they don’t have any money? Well, go get a job.”
A shopper at the Richboro location had a similar reaction saying, “It’s ridiculous. They need to work for stuff and make the money and buy it,” Joe Dombrowski told WPVI.
Another customer expressed fear of shopping at the store for gifts now.
“You’re afraid to go in and buy a gift bag now,” Kathleen Gregory told CBS News.
“It’s just not right. We all work hard, and it’s just not right.”
Gregory is also worried that prices will spike now that hundreds of items are being taken from their local store.
“Absolutely. They have to recover their loss. So, it’s not their fault they have to raise prices for people that are horrible and doing horrible things,” she said.
ONE CITY STANDS UP TO SHOPLIFTING
Retail theft costs retailers hundreds of billions of dollars annually — and continues to rise each year, so officials in one city are trying to fight back.
City council members of Aurora, Colorado voted to heighten existing anti-theft measures in the hopes it would help protect local business owners.
Havana Business District in Aurora, Colorado, is one of the biggest targets of retail theft in the country, according to CBS News.
One business in the area, Province Car and Dog Wash, was targeted by thieves four times in the last six months and experienced almost $70,000 in damage, the outlet reported.
According to the city, there has also been an increase in “dine and dash” theft offenses, especially in this area.
The city has proposed a mandatory minimum jail sentence of three days for these type of defrauding offenses, in which the perpetrator owes $15 or more to a dining establishment.
The minimum for retail theft resulting in a penalty of a three-day jail sentence has also been lowered from $300 to $100.
The measure also increased mandatory jail time for repeat offenders.
The mandatory minimum jail sentence will be 90 days if the offender has already been convicted of retail theft before.
If they’ve been convicted at least twice for retail theft, the minimum sentence would increase to 180 days.
Townspeople are willing to help, with one woman saying she will put up flyers.
“I’ll do anything I can to help,” Bonnie Laureno said to CBS News.
“Give me some flyers. I’ll put them up. I’ll post them.”
Chaos ensued at another CVS in Washington, DC when 20 people ran through the store, filling bags with items.
The incident was caught on video and showed one person throwing something at a security guard.
The U.S. Sun has contacted CVS, Bucks County Police, and Montgomery County Police for comment.
