Those new automated license plate readers about town just popped another retail theft suspect, as the cameras’ use led to the arrest of a woman accused of stealing $3,400 worth of Lululemon gear.
You may recall that San Francisco got a state grant in January to put up 400 automated license plate readers about town, in hopes of catching the perpetrators of retail theft, auto burglaries, sideshows, and such. And SFPD announced in June that 100 of these license plate readers had thus far been installed across the city already, with the department’s spokesperson Evan Sernoffsky telling the Chronicle, “We’re making arrests every day” based on the plate readers’ data. That said, we do not have overall data on how many arrests are happening with the use of these plate readers.
Flock camera busts suspect who stole over $3,400 in store merchandise!
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) September 5, 2024
Suspect arrested after store security guard observes license plate, @Flock_Safety catches license plate, and @SFPDBayview Sergeant locates vehicle and detains suspect without further incident. Well done! ➡️… pic.twitter.com/eo0RuS9qYn
Regardless, one more arrest has just been announced. SFPD said Thursday morning on Xitter that they’d arrested 31-year-old theft suspect Johnetta Dixon for allegedly stealing $3,400 worth of merchandise from a Pacific Heights retailer. And they insist that their automated license plate readers (known as Flock cameras) identified the whereabouts of the Dixon’s vehicle.
“On August 9, 2024, at approximately 4:24 pm, San Francisco Police Officers from the burglary unit were notified of an organized retail crime (ORC) incident that occurred at a retail store located on the 2000 block of Fillmore Street,” the department said in an announcement. “On August 10, 2024, at approximately 6:14 pm, officers from Bayview Station received an email notification when the wanted felony vehicle drove past a Flock camera. It was determined that the vehicle was used in the abovementioned theft and the FLOCK camera captured the vehicle in the area of Evans Ave heading towards 3rd Street.”
Johnetta Dixon, 31, busted by @SFPDBayview w/help by @Flock_Safety camera, charged by @SFDAOffice @BrookeJenkinsSF w/burglary & grand theft for helping to stealing $3,400 in merch from @lululemon near California & Fillmore, per @SFPD @SFPDNorthern @sfpdinvestigate pic.twitter.com/2rlS1H39v7
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) September 5, 2024
SFPD’s announcement does not identify the retail store at which the robbery occurred. But KTVU’s Henry Lee identifies it as the Lululemon at Fillmore and California streets.
Dixon was arrested and booked into SF County Jail on charges of grand theft, burglary, and giving false ID to police officers. She reportedly also had an outstanding out of county warrant on other charges.
If you have a small business that is affected by organized retail theft, you can participate in SFPD’s operations by contacting [email protected].
Image: San Francisco Police Department via Facebook
