Bicycle Riding Thief Pleads Guilty To Shoplifting From San Francisco Walgreens
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Jean Lugo Romero, who appeared on a viral video as he rode out of a San Francisco Walgreens on his bicycle carrying stolen merchandise, has pleaded guilty to felony grand theft and misdemeanor petty theft charges and will spend 16 months in prison, prosecutors announced Monday.
Over the last two years, Walgreens and other chain pharmacies in San Francisco have been targeted by brazen shoplifters. Several of the pharmacies have closed. Walgreens, for example, has closed more than 20 stores in San Francisco over the past five years.
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office also announced that a jury last week found Ahmad Shabazz guilty for a series of petty thefts at three separate Walgreens.
"Whether the work of organized retail theft rings or of individual suspects, the burglaries impacting our local businesses will not be tolerated," said District Attorney Chesa Boudin. "The sentence and verdicts handed down are just one way we are working to hold individuals accountable for harm caused by retail theft in San Francisco. We are also continuing our work with partner agencies to dismantle the organized networks which make these crimes profitable."
San Francisco police said officers arrested Lugo-Romero at a CVS on the 400 block of Haight Street after observing him clearing shelves of cosmetics and stuffing them into a duffel bag. He had allegedly shoplifted from that same store two days prior.
As part of his sentence, Lugo-Romero was ordered to stay away from two Walgreens employees, two Walgreens stores and one CVS store.
