A masked man was caught on video pulling off a pair of chain-store heists in Brooklyn — as cops from coast to coast grapple with an epidemic of retail burglaries.
The New York City crook swiped more than $11,000 in merchandise and cash in the span of two nights, said the NYPD, which released footage of the suspect Saturday.
During the first robbery Aug. 17, the suspect entered the Fulton Street Burlington store after business hours, between 12:43 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., through an emergency exit, cops said.
The thief stole items including perfume, clothing and electronics valued at $6,050 in total before fleeing the scene.
The same burglar then struck again the Fulton Street Champ’s store a few weeks later, on Sept. 5, police said.
He forcibly entered the business and took off with apparel, sneakers and $700 cash worth a total of $5,300 during the crime, which occurred between 12:30 and 5 a.m., cops said.
Police described the suspect as at about 5-feet-5 with a thin build.
Video shared by the NYPD shows the suspect wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt, dark-colored baseball cap, black pants, black face mask and black backpack.
The crimes come as cities across the country deal with a growing epidemic of organized shoplifting and burglaries, including in California, where officials plan to spend $267 million to help local law enforcement combat the troubling increase.
Over the summer, a Burlington store in California was targeted by three women who were caught on camera slowly wheeling out a trio of shopping carts of merchandise in a broad-daylight spectacle.
Video of the bold theft, shared online, showed the women loading their stolen goods into a red Dodge Charger as alarms blared in the background.
“Damn, look at these people stealing! Say hi to the camera!” the man filming can be heard saying to the women in the video as the suspects hurl mounds of clothes and shoes into the trunk of their car.
“Look at this s–t. What the f–k is this?” the man says, walking toward them.
The Sacramento Police Department said a police report had been filed over the incident.
Retail theft in America has skyrocketed to $94 billion — an alarming 90% increase since 2018, according to the National Retail Federation.
Police ask anyone with information in regard to the Brooklyn crimes to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
