San Francisco, Bay Area stores ransacked; retailer warns leadership 'invited chaos' amid looting streak
Dozens of stores were ransacked in San Francisco and Oakland over the weekend
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A San Francisco retailer is calling crime in the city "atrocious" after thieves recently targeted luxury retailers and other stores with mass looting over a period of days. Gump's owner John Chachas joined "Fox & Friends" to discuss the crime wave and share his concerns as a business owner.
"My concern as a business person is you don't have a functioning environment anymore when you have people outside of the city who are afraid to come to the city because of rampant crime… and grit and filth," Chachas explained.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Over the weekend, at least 12 stores were ransacked, including a Louis Vuitton in the city's well-known Union Square, which was reportedly "emptied out."
"Today, you can steal up to nine hundred ninety five dollars worth of goods and it's a misdemeanor, and the people that are doing this know that the police are not likely to actually do anything about it," Chachas stated.
"If they did something about it, the district attorney is not likely to prosecute," he continued. "So until you change things back to a law abiding society, you just invite this kind of chaos."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In response to the weekend's chaos, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the city would limit car access to the area in an effort to counter the rampant looting.
San Francisco police lieutenant Tracy McCracy also discussed the crime wave on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday, arguing criminals have "no fear" of partaking because of the city's soft-on-crime approach.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's not only prosecution, it's convictions," McCray explained. "If I arrest you for a felony, you get convicted of a felony, not that it's pled down to some misdemeanor, like the D.A. did before… and if you get convicted of a felony, you go to jail."
McCray also noted thieves who get hit with citations are "released right then and there," which incentivizes criminals to partake in the organized mob-looting.
According to San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, the police presence will remain heightened until further notice.
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"It just destroys your business, and we've had now twice in this last 12 months a requirement to board up our store to protect it," Chachas explained. "It's outrageous."
"We are open and we're ready for people to come," Chachas stated. "San Francisco is our home. Gump's has been there a hundred and sixty five years, but frankly, the leadership of the city has lost its way."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}There were reportedly 80 people who participated in the mass looting in San Francisco alone over the weekend, in what officials are describing as "organized" efforts.