‘Rat Packs’ of Robbers Hit Stores

They are young and brash, travel in large groups, and intimidate and harass store owners while walking off with their merchandise, police say.

Police are warning Santa Monica merchants about such bands of youths, saying that in at least three recent instances, groups of as many as 40 teen-agers have swarmed into local stores in the afternoon and made off with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars worth of sneakers and athletic wear.

Authorities call it “rat-packing” and say it is a growing practice among gang members in other areas of Los Angeles County. In Hollywood, they say, several such robberies have occurred in recent weeks, sometimes targeting liquor and convenience stores.

“It seems to be the popular crime of the summer among juveniles,” said Lt. Robert Thomas of the Santa Monica Police Department. “They go in and completely overwhelm the merchants, (who) are so intimidated they are afraid to take action against any of them.”

Santa Monica stores are among the latest targets. But police said it is not clear whether the practice has spread from other areas, or if the local incidents have been isolated and the work of the same youths.

“I don’t think it is anything that is that well organized,” said Thomas. “But it has happened enough for us to be concerned about it.”

Since July 23, at least two stores on Wilshire Boulevard have been hit, and Thomas said there may have been others.

Police have arrested nine juveniles in two robberies of Athletic X-Press on Wilshire Boulevard--four in connection with a July 23 robbery, and five more after a similar incident July 27. Some of the youths were caught as they changed into stolen clothes and sneakers a few blocks away, according to police reports.

Some suspects also may have participated in a similar robbery of Brooks Shoes on Wilshire Boulevard, also on July 27, Thomas said.

During the Athletic X-Press robberies, at least 20 youths charged into the store and headed for the clothing and sneakers, police said. Some of them had been there the Saturday before, looking around before stealing one pair of sneakers, said store owner Michael Dobbin.

“They’re just running in, picking stuff off the shelves and running out,” Dobbin said.

One employee immediately called police but Dobbin said no effort was made to stop the youths. “Are you nuts? I’m not going to take on that many kids. Not a chance,” he said.

In the July 27 robbery at Athletic X-Press, one youth ripped a coatrack off its bearings and walked out of the store with the entire rack, with six jackets on it. Each jacket was worth about $100 and bore the insignia of the Los Angeles Lakers, Raiders or other popular sports teams, according to a police report.

An unknown number of sneakers, apparently all Nike brand, also were stolen, and authorities believe at least $2,000 in merchandise was taken altogether.

One Athletic X-Press employee said he “did not see a single juvenile exit the store without carrying store property in his hands” during one of the robberies, according to a police report.

Police said they regarded the incidents as robberies rather than shoplifting because the youths were using intimidation and threats. The youths do not seem to be afraid of the store owners or the police, authorities said.