Hours after California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a crime bill to stop "smash and grabs," a bicycling mob ransacked three Hollywood 7-Eleven stores in under 25 minutes.
NBC Los Angeles reported that the first store was hit shortly after 8 pm. The bike gang reportedly broke into the store, stealing food and beverages, and left the store with a broken window. Just 16 minutes later, a second 7-Eleven near Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue was attacked, during which an employee was allegedly assaulted. A third store on Santa Monica Boulevard was hit at 8:22 pm.
Speaking to reporters during the signing of the bill, Newsom stated, "The impact on poor folks, the impact on Black and Brown communities, it's next level. And it doesn't address what they're saying. I've seen this movie over and over and over again. It's – it's exactly who we're not as a state."
"And the fact that there's some Democrats, you referenced one, couple of others who are supporting that, I don't know that they've given it a lot of thought. And I don't mean that as a cheap shot. I mean this sincerely. And I know they will give some pushback against that and maybe you'll run with that story as opposed to the substance of all this."
A summary of items listed in the bill includes: "Cracking down on theft and sale of stolen items, Increasing enforcement and prosecution, Updating felony threshold counts, Targeting smash-and-grabs, Fighting car break-ins and auto theft," and "Eliminating organized retail theft sunset provisions."
The bill will make organized retail theft punishable by up to three years of jail time for possessing "more than $950 of stolen goods with intent to sell, exchange, or return the goods."