Arlington County is experiencing a rash of liquor store thefts and robberies this year.
The county is often seeing multiple thefts per day from Virginia ABC stores — and yesterday was no exception.
Around 4 p.m., police responded to the ABC store at 1001 N. Fillmore Street in Clarendon for a report of someone who stole three bottles of liquor before driving off in a Nissan with D.C. tags. Then another theft was reported from the ABC store at 2955A S. Glebe Road.
The latter incident led to police stopping a car on Glebe over I-395 and detaining two male occupants, as seen in photos and video posted on social media (below) by local public safety watchers.
NEW: Here's the video 🔽🔽 of the suspects stopped in yet another @VirginiaABC store theft. @matthewyoung31, as usual, has the details further below ⏬⏬ of this afternoon's drama on S. Glebe Rd near I-395. Video via @SafetyVid. @ARLnowDOTcom @HCBright10 @RealTimeNews10 #safety… https://t.co/ktQTEkPgDG pic.twitter.com/3Xk7ECUuCW
See AlsoWCCO | CBS Minnesota - Breaking News, NEXT Weather, and Community Journalism, Minneapolis-St. Paul— Dave Statter (@STATter911) May 29, 2024
Earlier on Tuesday, Arlington County police responded to an ARLnow inquiry about the number of liquor thefts since the start of the year.
“Since the beginning of 2024, there had been 150 larcenies and 7 robberies reported at 8 ABC locations in Arlington County,” ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage said. “While we are seeing a concentration of thefts from these stores, we do not believe these incidents are all linked cases. Based on a review of evidence, there are varying suspects involved in these incidents, however, some suspects may be responsible for multiple incidents.”
ARLnow asked whether there was a pattern in terms of what was being stolen — as well as what police were doing in response.
“We’re seeing various types of alcohol being stolen,” Savage said. “In some cases, it appears the suspects are stealing whatever alcohol is easiest to grab and flee.”
“Officers have met with store employees and provided educational information on reporting incidents to police for investigation,” the ACPD spokeswoman continued. “As part of our ongoing investigative efforts into these incidents, patrol officers are conducting extra checks in the areas of the stores and detectives are working collaboratively with regional law enforcement partners to identify and apprehend suspects.”
The department also detailed two arrests made in connection to ABC store thefts so far this month.
LARCENY, 2024-05050155, 1300 block of S. Joyce Street. At approximately 5:31 p.m. on May 5, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny just occurred. The preliminary investigation determined the juvenile male suspect entered the business, took merchandise and exited without payment. A lookout was broadcast and officers located the suspect near the Pentagon City Metro. Petitions were obtained for the juvenile suspect for Underage Possession of Alcohol and Petit Larceny.
LARCENY, 2024-05170186, 300 block of 23rd Street S. At approximately 5:21 p.m. on May 17, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny in progress. The preliminary investigation determined the female suspect entered the business, concealed merchandise and exited without payment. The suspect was located nearby and taken into custody. [The suspect], 21, of Alexandria, VA was arrested and charged with Petit Larceny.
Arlington is not the only Northern Virginia jurisdiction seeing such incidents. Four suspects were arrested after an ABC store robbery in Alexandria on Memorial Day, ALXnow reported.
Virginia ABC said in a statement (below) issued to ARLnow this afternoon that the state-run alcohol authority is “continually reviewing and implementing changes at its retail stores to better deter and detect theft.”
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority is undertaking a multipronged approach to address retail theft in its network of more than 400 stores. These changes include law enforcement initiatives, more frequent inventories, additional audits and other tactics to best serve customers and reduce the impact of crime in our communities.
The National Retail Federation describes the items most frequently targeted for theft as CRAVED: concealable, removable, available, valuable, enjoyable and disposable. These categories collectively describe alcoholic beverages, explaining the enticement for theft from Virginia ABC stores.
Virginia ABC values its relationships with local law enforcement. Retail staff are trained to gather actionable information to generate usable suspect information and leads. No product in our store is worth risking the safety of our team members and customers. We encourage interaction between staff and patrol officers serving their communities.
Virginia ABC is continually reviewing and implementing changes at its retail stores to better deter and detect theft. These include emphasizing staff interaction with customers, minimizing the quantity of high-theft products that are placed on shelves at any one time, moving those products for maximum visibility by staff members, enhancing camera systems, ensuring the sight lines of camera systems, lowering inventory levels at stores and adding additional in-store staff.
