A group of perhaps five to ten thieves, all wearing hoodies and masks, ran into a temporary Gucci store at the South Coast Plaza on Wednesday at about 7:20 p.m., according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.
The thieves ran off with numerous handbags worth more than $100K.
The police reported that the thieves didn’t use any weapons and there were no injuries.
Police arrived at the Gucci store within minutes but the thieves were long gone.
The Gucci store is at a temporary location while the main store is under construction. The temporary store is close to multiple exits which likely made it attractive to the thieves.
Flash mob style retail thefts have greatly increased in Southern California in the past few weeks including robbers at a jewelry store in Irvine, a Nordstrom at Westfield Topanga Mall and an Yves Saint Laurent store at the Americana at Brand in Glendale. Yet another theft was reported on Tuesday night at a high-end denim store in Hancock Park.
Anyone with information on the Costa Mesa crime is urged to call detectives at 714-754-5120.
