Berkeley Sephora has been plagued by burglary and theft
Berkeley police have made arrests in some of the cases, while other investigations remain open.
The Berkeley Sephora store was repeatedly targeted by thieves and burglars in July, seeing nearly $50,000 in losses over about two weeks.
The biggest take occurred during an overnight break-in while the store was closed.
Berkeley police have made arrests in some of the cases, while others remain open.
Burglars made off with a major haul July 15, stealing more than $33,000 in products during a break-in overnight.
In that incident, BPD got an alarm activation from Sephora just before 3 a.m. Officers found the front door shattered when they arrived but the thieves were already gone. That investigation is ongoing, police said.
At least three other incidents took place during business hours, BPD said in response to a Scanner inquiry.
On July 2, two women in their 20s went into Sephora at about 6:40 p.m. "and began swiftly filling their large tote bag with skincare/make-up products from the Tatcha and Dior display shelves," BPD said.
The pair left Sephora without paying for the items and fled southbound on Fourth Street in a white vehicle without license plates, BPD said.
That day's take was nearly $9,000, police said. No charges have been filed.
Several days later, two women in their 20s went into Sephora at 2:30 p.m. and stole more than $2,400 in cosmetics, BPD said.
Police later arrested a juvenile in connection with that case but no additional information was available due to privacy laws that protect minors. No adults have been charged, according to court records.
Finally, on July 16, two women went into Sephora at about 12:45 p.m. "and were seen walking around the store with large reusable bags," police said.
Initially, the women put cosmetics from the display shelves into a shopping basket. Then they moved those items into a reusable bag and walked out without paying, according to police.
Both women were detained outside Sephora with more than $2,700 in pilfered products, police said.
The women — Diamond Gansah-McDaniel, 23, of Oakland and Simetra Ingram, 20, of Sacramento — were charged last week with retail theft and grand theft.
No bail amount was listed in online court records but neither woman is still in custody. They are scheduled to appear in court Aug. 7.
Emilie Raguso
Northwest Berkeley: A property crime hotspot
The Fourth Street shopping district has been a popular target for thieves due to its concentration of high-end shops and easy access to the freeway.
Sephora, which opened on Fourth Street in 2018, has been among the hardest hit.
Last year, BPD announced three significant Sephora thefts: a $2,000 take in January; an arrest in April; and a $4,000 theft in November. There were likely many others.
And the problematic incidents have continued this year.
According to court records, Berkeley police are investigating two retail thefts at Sephora in February where more than $12,000 in products were taken.
In April, a group stole more than $13,000 in goods from Sephora and escaped.
Police are also investigating two thefts in June in which thieves stole about $3,000 in products while the store was open.
In addition, on June 18, three people broke into Sephora overnight and stole $41,000 in cosmetics, according to BPD.
One man was arrested and charged in that case. The investigation is ongoing.
Emilie Raguso
Emilie Raguso
Emilie Raguso
Other shops in the neighborhood that have also seen brazen thefts include the North Face Outlet, the Berkeley Apple Store, Lululemon and REI.
Property crime was up about 10% in Berkeley last year, with commercial burglary alone seeing a 32% increase, according to BPD's annual crime report.
Compared to last year's spikes in commercial burglary and felony theft (those over $950), both categories of property crime are down this year.
But many businesses continue to report break-ins.
In a recent Instagram post, Blue Willow Teaspot at 10th and Harrison streets posted a photo of its broken front door, writing: "I'm so sick of this. Seriously. I've lost count of how many broken windows we've had to replace in the last 7+ years."
This week, thieves reportedly broke into Cha-Ya, on Shattuck Avenue.
A reader shared a photograph on X of Cha-Ya's shattered glass door.
@BerkeleyScanner Thieves broke into Cha-Ya last night.@berkeleyside pic.twitter.com/YXzQYngGPz
— David Olson — Age of Uncertainty🇺🇸🇳🇴🇺🇦 (@dlonorse) July 22, 2024
Berkeley police have been working to address the ongoing issue through undercover retail theft operations as well as normal patrol operations.
Those efforts may be paying off as retail theft charges appear to be getting more common in Berkeley.
During an undercover retail theft operation earlier this month, police said they arrested two retail theft suspects alleged to have taken more than $1,500 in merchandise from the northwest Berkeley Walgreens near REI.
Last week, The Scanner reported on retail theft charges filed July 9 against members of a group who took more than $4,000 in beauty supplies from the South Berkeley Walgreens on Adeline Street, according to court papers.
Also last week, police arrested three people in the 1000 block of Ashby Avenue in connection with a shoplifting report. All three have now been charged with misdemeanor organized retail theft, according to court records.
In its most recent annual crime report, BPD noted that it now "works in collaboration with regional loss prevention agents to identify organized retail theft offenders."
BPD has also been working with other police departments and their retail units to "share suspect information, including surveillance photos/videos, suspect vehicles, and suspect MO to link cases committed by the same groups of suspects throughout the Bay Area."
