FAIRFAX, Va. – Seven people, 15 seconds and a fire extinguisher were all it took for a seven-man crew from Pennsylvania to steal luxury goods worth over $60,000 from the Chanel store in the upscale Tysons Galleria shopping center in northern Virginia in June.
Organized shoplifting is gaining attention across the country, and Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis knows his affluent northern Virginia district is in the crosshairs.
“I think that makes us very vulnerable. It’s no news to anyone that Fairfax County has a really world-class retail community,” Davis said. “That’s one of the reasons we’re so committed to safety.”
On Thursday, Davis highlighted the county’s recent successes in combating these thefts. At a press conference, he announced the arrest of the suspected getaway driver in the Chanel robbery, as well as arrest warrants for two other people. He also released video and screen captures of four other suspects in the theft, which he hopes will lead to more arrests.
A video of the theft shows one of the suspects firing a fire extinguisher at a security guard as he enters the store. The suspects are charged with assault with a caustic substance, among other charges, for discharging the fire extinguisher.
Police also announced arrests related to another gang that targeted luxury stores in seven different states on both coasts. Deputy Police Chief Gregory Fried said members of that gang were responsible for at least $170,000 in damage in those seven states, including $35,000 in Fairfax County.
The problem of organized shoplifting has received increasing attention across the country, with more than two dozen states recently passing laws to combat the problem. Concrete data on the subject is not easy to come by—last year, a report by the National Retail Foundation retracted the claim that organized store crime was responsible for about half of merchandise losses.
In Fairfax County, the number of reported thefts doubled from 2021 to 2023, from about 4,000 to more than 8,000, Davis said.
However, he said the number of arrests has almost tripled. As a result, 70% of thefts resulted in arrests in 2023, compared to 52% in 2021.
He also stressed the importance of retailers doing everything they can to collect evidence, particularly video evidence, to help police make arrests. He said some retailers are equipping their staff with body-worn cameras similar to those used by police.
He said his office makes arrests of thefts a priority, but said the justice system needs to take the issue just as seriously. He expressed frustration with the low bail amounts for suspects arrested for theft.
“It’s not little Johnny stealing a 3 Musketeers bar,” he said.
