The thieves ran down Swarthmore to the bank parking lot where their getaway car was parked.
Two Men Steal about $12,000 Worth of Purses
Several businesses in Pacific Palisades that carry upscale clothing and hand bags have been robbed in the past year, by what some shop owners are saying are a gang of criminals.
The Elyse Walker store, on the corner of Antioch and Swarthmore, has been robbed several times by thieves who walk in, take expensive purses and run out. She now has hired and stationed guards at her store doors.
The most recent heist took place around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 28, in a store north of Sunset on Swarthmore Avenue, by Caruso’s Palisades Village.
According to Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore’s crime report: “The suspects were both estimated to be about 25 years old. The first was also described as black male, bald, 5’10”, 160 pounds and the second was a black male, brown hair, also described as 5’10” and 160 pounds.”
The two men ran into the store and grabbed purses valued at about $12,000. The owner told them to stop, but they ran out the door to a white two-door BMW parked in the U.S. Bank parking lot.
People along the Swarthmore sidewalk observed the two men running down the street with the merchandise. They were able to give a description of the car, but there was no license plate on the car. (LAPD has said in the past that the easiest way to find a criminal is to track them down through a license plate.)
“They were in and out in a minute,” said the store owner, who believes the thieves have been in Pacific Palisades before and, “They use force and carry concealed weapons.”
The owner said the police arrived about 20 minutes after she called them. She has photos of the two men from her store camera and the pictures were forwarded to detectives.
Caruso guards, who patrol Swarthmore and the interior of the Palisades Village, were not on the street when the theft happened.
The owner was asked what would stop this group from going into the other expensive shops in Palisades Village and running out with merchandise–or what would stop this group from grabbing someone’s expensive hand bag while they were on the street.
She didn’t have an answer, but a situation where criminals are stealing from stores in broad daylight while people (potential witnesses) are nearby doesn’t bode well for business.
So sorry to hear….it’s a statement of our times…..desperate people who steal $6,000 purses and those who sell them at those high prices at the cost of some animal that was raised to become a designer purse or a piece of luggage….