Suspects clear the shelves at a Cerritos Sephora for third time
Three suspects in Cerritos robbed a Sephora makeup store three times before the business decided to file a report with police.
"That's really disappointing that things like that keep happening in our area," said Cerritos resident Jill Katsuda.
The most recent robbery was caught on camera and showed the suspects brazenly filling up their bags with makeup and skincare items straight from the shelves seemingly undeterred and unbothered by the workers and customers watching them.
An estimated $27,000 worth of product was stolen.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the robbery happened on Saturday night at the Cerritos Mall but the store filed a police report on Monday after initially declining to do so.
The manager of the Sephora store said the same three suspects, two men and one woman, have robbed the place twice before.
LASD noted that a fourth suspect stood out front of the storefront as a lookout.
Nearby residents are concerned that this rash of robberies will add safety concerns to the mall that recently lost an anchor store and will paint a picture of a community in trouble.
"That's a very popular shopping mall and it's one of the financial engines of Cerritos including the other Square," said resident Jeffrey Lee. "If those engines go down then the city is gonna be on the decline. And as a homeowner here I want the property values to maintain."
