Malibu residents who like to shop at Trader Joe’s often drive “over the hill” into Calabasas or their other nearby store in Agoura Hills. If you haven’t been there lately, on your next visit you’ll probably notice a large sign in front of the market warning you to keep an eye on your purse or wallet. There has been a string of robberies at these popular shopping destinations, and distracted buyers are becoming the victims of purse snatchers.
Former Malibu resident Anita Chala noticed the sign when she went shopping Aug. 12 at the Trader Joe’s in Calabasas. “I saw the sign, but I guess I didn’t heed it,” Chala, about to celebrate her 87th birthday, said.
Before she left to go to the market, Chala put a $100 bill in her wallet that contained some other money, credit cards and gift cards her children had been giving her for Mothers’ Day and birthdays throughout the pandemic. Chala was saving those gift cards to use when she felt more comfortable shopping as the pandemic has been waning. She hadn’t been to a market in person in a long time.
Overwhelmed with choices, Chala asked for help locating an item in the deli section. She thinks this may be the time that she was distracted, and someone pilfered her wallet right out of her purse. When she reached the checkout stand ready to pay she realized she had become a crime victim.
“My big leather purse has three compartments,” Chala said. “Two have snaps, but the middle one has a zipper and it was zipped. When I go to open it, my wallet’s not in there. I said, ‘Oh my gosh. My wallet’s not here!’ I didn’t panic until I got home and it (the wallet) wasn’t there. I distinctly remember putting it in my purse which was zipped. Instantly tears started flowing. That’s what baffles me. How could they unzip and zip it back up without anybody seeing anything?”
When Chala filed a police report they told her the thieves are professionals. “They knew exactly what to do,” the senior citizen commented.
It took frustrating hours of phone calls to notify banks and credit card companies to cancel accounts, which Chala found “so upsetting.”
The thieves withdrew more than $700 from Chala’s bank debit account even without her PIN. She says it took them only minutes to make a cash withdrawal at a branch down the street. The victim also lost gift cards to department stores and, most importantly, family photos.
“I wake up in the middle of the night and start remembering ‘oh no,’” Chala said. “I had my Malibu library card, my Malibu dial-a-ride card, and a favorite picture of my dad and my mom, and little kids, and my driver’s license. That was really, really hard for me. And how do they do it? In threes; in pairs?”
Chala also reported that while filing a police report someone mentioned the possibility of an organized Chilean crime ring involvement.
The Malibu Times called the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department, whose community relations team in conjunction with some of the retailers erected the warning signs that include the local sheriff’s phone number.
Detective Bureau Sgt. M. Escalante emailed TMT about recent thefts. He wrote that Trader Joe’s does not have surveillance in their stores.
“Regarding T.J. Maxx; I can tell you they do have surveillance cameras in their stores and they provide us video upon request,” Escalante added. It’s common for chain stores to have surveillance cameras to curb theft not only from customers, but mostly their own merchandise.
“As far as these purse thefts go, we have not had an uptick/increase in thefts,” Escalante wrote. “Overall, crime is down in our jurisdiction. Are Chilean theft rings committing these crimes? Yes, but they are not solely responsible for these crimes and our crimes statistics have not increased overall as a result.”
TMT made four attempts to reach a media spokesperson for Trader Joe’s. The company has not yet answered our calls.
If a business would like a sign, they can contact the community relations team at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
Lt. Dustin Carr added, “I do recommend that people consistently monitor, especially when they’re shopping, their bags in their shopping carts. Make sure your valuables are secured. And we do encourage people to report (these crimes).”