California’s smash-and-grab at Macy’s happens at the same mall where dozens of looters robbed Nordstrom last year

California authorities are investigating an armed robbery at a Macy’s in Walnut Creek on Saturday morning after three suspects stole high-end watches before fleeing, officials said.

The Walnut Creek Police Department said “three black adult male suspects” entered the store in the Broadway Plaza mall around 10:48 a.m. when they began “smashing jewelry display cases with hammers”.

The suspects, all wearing balaclavas and masks to obstruct identification, stole the valuables and fled.

Last year, dozens of suspects robbed Broadway Plaza Nordstrom in what witnesses described as a brazen robbery like “something out of a movie”.

The suspects in Saturday’s robbery were seen driving away in an older white Honda 4-door sedan, WCPD PIO Lt. Holley Connors said.

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Walnut Creek police say no Macy’s employees or customers were injured in the incident.

“Macy’s is always taking inventory of losses and estimated costs to repair damage,” Conners added.

Los Angeles, CA – December 02: Photos of recent smash-and-grabs at a press conference to announce arrests related to recent smash-and-grab thefts, and to provide safety precautions and prevention tips at HQ from the LAPD in Los Angeles on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
(Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

WCPD continues to investigate the incident and no further details have been provided.

Broadway Plaza is located in downtown Walnut Creek and features several high-end stores, including the Nordstrom that was robbed late last year.

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Between 50 and 80 looters entered the store just before 9 p.m. in late November when they seized goods and fled, police said.

Armed suspects hold up a Shell gas station in Culver City, California on June 11, 2022.
(Culver City Police Department)

Witnesses described the chaotic flight as “crazy”.

California has recently suffered a plague of armed robberies, including…

…several smash-and-grabber thieves rushed into a Princess Bride Diamonds Jewelry Store, located in the Bella Terra Mall in Huntington Beach before workers physically battle would-be thieves.

…thieves smashed shop windows with hammers a Kay jeweler in the Brea mall, near downtown Los Angeles, before stealing goods and fleeing.

… thieves broke into the “Heart of Gold” jewelry store in San Jose before walking away with over $100,000 in merchandise.

… smash-and-grab thieves seized $5 million worth of stolen goods from a Beverly Hills Jewelry, Luxury Jewelry, after entering the store in broad daylight with masses.

…a brazen trio of thieves stole a Forever 21 at the Los Cerritos Center in Los Angeles then a Sephora store in the same mall.

Some residents attributed such thefts to liberal policies adopted by district attorneys.

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District Attorney Diane Becton of Contra Costa County, which includes Walnut Creek, for example, has instructed her own prosecutors to consider the “needs” of looters in robbery cases.

A Bay Area jewelry store owner took matters into his own hands and stopped would-be smash-and-grab thieves from taking any merchandise.
(Usman Bhatti)

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Becton also told investigators to determine whether “the theft was committed for financial gain or personal need” before charging them, local newspaper East County Today reported.

Anyone with information about the Walnut Creek crime is encouraged to call WCPD at 925-943-5865.