The charges against Jean Lugo-Romero, 40, include petty theft, grand theft, several counts of second-degree robbery, second-degree burglary and commercial shoplifting, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office said.
Investigators have linked him to seven other shoplifting incidents that allegedly occurred between May 11 and Saturday.
“Local businesses and neighborhood stores are the backbone of our community, and we are working to protect San Francisco stores and consumers,” said San Francisco District Attorney Boudin.
Video footage posted online shows a man inside a Walgreens on Gough Street throwing items into a garbage bag before getting on a bicycle and zipping through an aisle to leave the store, according to the footage that was captured by local KGO-TV reporter Lyanne Melendez.
SAN FRANCISCO’S SHOPLIFTING SPIKE IS DEVASTATING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
A security guard who also filmed the alleged theft attempted to grab the bag as the thief rode away.
Prosecutors allege Lugo-Romero hit the same Walgreens on Gough Street at least four times.
He was arrested just after 8:30 a.m. Saturday while he was in another store on Haight Street, the San Francisco Police Department said. Officers recognized him and found him “clearing shelves of cosmetics and placing the merchandise into a duffel bag,” SFPD said.
Investigators determine he stole $ 978 worth of goods, police said. The thefts occurred amid a wave of retail crime in San Francisco and other cities.
“Unfortunately, this is another example of blatant retail theft which is an ongoing problem for several retailers in San Francisco,” a Walgreens spokesperson previously told Fox News.
Fox News has reached out to the retailer but has not heard back.
In response to the shoplifting thefts, Boudin’s office is partnering with ALTO, a loss prevention and security service to coordinate between retailers, police and prosecutors. The DA’s office has also partnered with the California Highway Patrol’s Organized Retail Crimes Task Force to disrupt organized retail crimes.
“We will continue to develop new ways to focus efforts upstream to address the root of these crimes,” Boudin said.
Fox News’ Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.
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