Thieves Christen Walnut Creek’s New Apple Store
As our Flash subscribers first learned Saturday night, a crew of thieves entered and robbed the recently opened Apple store on South Main Street – making off with thousands of dollars worth of electronics before making a clean getaway.
The theft was reported shortly after 5:30 p.m. Saturday and followed another reported grab-and-run robbery from a patron at a Walnut Creek coffee shop. A description of the car used in that theft, a black Mercedes SUV, matched the description of the getaway vehicle used by the men fleeing the Apple store during that theft later in the evening.
The store opened to some fanfare in July. Its previous location, across the street and next to the Tiffany store, was no stranger to grab and run robberies – with a reader submitting video of one “crew” snatching up phones and computers before running from the store as employees and customers looked on.
The video accompanying this story is from a grab and run robbery at the Apple location in Corte Madera just a few days before thieves struck in Walnut Creek. Five men were involved in that theft, police said, while four participated in the Walnut Creek theft.
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I paid a LOT of money for my iPhone. I’m starting to regret that decision. It appears Apple is giving them away for free.
Those guys standing there opening the door for the crooks, the ones in the blue jackets with badges on them – are those security guards or accomplices?
Now I know how to get a new, snazzy car! All these thieving wing-nuts got some nice wheels…..
Certainly better than our Old Junker!
Looks like Apple has created an unsafe environment for their customers.
those cables and security guards aren’t much of a deterrent.
Uhhhhhh…. why hire security people?
Wow..how convenient for the guy”s video
We can’t have nice things like an open air Apple store because when we do we let thugs just walk in and steal stuff. Get ready for Apple store 2.0 with iron bars on the door and the Genius Bar behind bulletproof glass.
Looks like the bad guys are winning.
I need to upgrade my system – anyone have a hoody I can borrow?
Did the security guards get a promotion for being courteous and opening the door for the runners?
There’s a new Apple store in Walnut Creek??? It would seem that I need to venture beyond my yard on occasion.
There is, Tom, and it’s a really pretty store. The thieves seem to know where it is…
I was at Tiffany’s a few weeks ago and didn’t even notice. I need to work on my observation skills.
Big store. Lots of glass and cool electronic flashy things. Smack in the middle of Broadway Plaza and it has this big apple on it! Seriously, just across the street from the old location…
So there are groups of young men roaming the area and apparently California and they are targeting Apple stores and stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of goods while their security people and customers stand aside and watch. Sounds like a smart business model to me.
I never felt safe in the old location. Unlike some mall locations, the Walnut Creek stores are at street level. In addition, the store was always disorganized, with employees milling around, and customers in various “holding areas” waiting for service. The merchandise is high value; priority one is the safety and security of staff and customers. The store could be better designed to discourage quick hits like the one described in the post. I am not suggesting that a guard lose his life over a phone or an ipad; but maybe a more robust presence would deter crime and make people feel safer. Here’s another thought: when was the last time you saw Walnut Creek PD on a foot patrol walking the area?
Thoughtful post. Agree with most of your points but would have to say that while we may not see police in Broadway Plaza it doesn’t mean they’re not there. Hope they catch these guys and hope no one gets hurt.