GILROY
– Given the bonanza shoppers had this past weekend at the Gilroy
Premium Outlets and the big-box retail stores along U.S. 101, it
only stood to reason that criminals would show up, too, to take
advantage of the crowded situation.
GILROY – Given the bonanza shoppers had this past weekend at the Gilroy Premium Outlets and the big-box retail stores along U.S. 101, it only stood to reason that criminals would show up, too, to take advantage of the crowded situation.
And they did.
Three men in a blue Ford minivan stole 15 boxes of clothing from the loading dock behind the Timberland Factory Outlet Wednesday at about 12:30 p.m., according to Gilroy police. The goods were worth between $4,000 and $5,000, Store Manager Debbie Dolph said.
Timberland had just dropped off 91 boxes of merchandise from the warehouse. They had been there for a little while, but store employees were watching over them, Dolph said.
Dolph was there herself and saw the minivan pull up and park, but she had no reason at the time to suspect anything. The theft took place when she went inside briefly, leaving a sales associate on duty. This employee was positioned such that he or she couldn’t see all the boxes, and the thieves made off with ones out of his or her line of sight.
“The time I was gone from the boxes was three to five minutes,” Dolph said. “They were just waiting for me to get out of the way.”
The crime didn’t destroy Dolph’s spirits, however. Sales-wise, she had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
“We had a wonderful weekend,” Dolph said. “We actually beat our record.”
Fake Versace jacket sales
On Friday evening, two alleged victims made a citizens’ arrest on an Italian man selling purported Versace leather jackets in front of the Versace Company Store, in the outlet complex at 8800 Arroyo Circle.
According to police, Antonio Bruno, 26, of Napoli (Naples), Italy, approached two men in the parking lot in front of the Versace store and offered to sell them Versace leather jackets at cheap prices. The men gave Bruno $500 in exchange for one or more jackets (the police report was unclear on this point), and Bruno left. The men soon discovered the jackets were fake, however, and chased Bruno down, catching him and holding him until police arrived. The men got their money back, and police found 10 more similar jackets in Bruno’s vehicle. He was arrested for grand theft, a felony.
Bruno has no association with the Versace Company Store, according to a store manager.
Other shopping-related crime
Every year a certain number of counterfeit bills are passed at the outlets, and this year is no exception. Employees of Reebok International, in the 8555 San Ysidro Ave. outlet complex, told police they received two $100 bills later found to be counterfeit from an unknown person or persons over the weekend.
Shoplifting is also common, and police made one arrest for this over the long weekend. A store security guard at Costco reportedly caught Suzanne Michelle Carling, 36, of San Jose, leaving the store without paying for a calculator, which she had concealed in a baby blanket.
The petty theft charge, normally a misdemeanor, was raised to a felony due to prior theft convictions on Carling’s record, according to police.
