OAN Staff James Meyers
11:28 AM – Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Accused shoplifters were startled to learn that they might be slapped with a felony charge after “new laws” went into affect that crack down on low-level theft, according to police footage in California.
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The Seal Beach Police Department in Orange County published a montage of security, dash and body camera videos that show three women allegedly stealing over $600 in merchandise from an Ulta Beauty before officers caught up with the thieves, slapped them in cuffs and put them into a squad car.
That was when one suspect asks if they could be charged with a felony, to which her accomplice delivers the harsh news: “B—h, new laws. Stealing is a felony.”
“This is Orange County, b—h. They don’t play,” the alleged thief said.
The new law that was brought up during the footage is Proposition 36. It’s a ballot initiative that went into effect Wednesday undoing soft-on-crime policies put in by California Democrat lawmakers limiting law enforcement’s ability to crack down on smaller crimes such as shoplifting.
Under one law passed in 2014, thieves could only be charged with a misdemeanor if the stolen items were less than $950.
However, the law came into effect during a surge in retail theft, causing an outcry from citizens and businesses alike and pushing politicians to change the law.
Meanwhile, almost 70% of voters casted ballots in favor of Prop 36 this past November.
“Here in Seal Beach we never believed in the cite and release program, but this new proposition only strengthens our commitment to combatting Organized Retail Theft,” Seal Beach PD wrote in the caption of the video, which was set to Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots are Made for Walkin.’”
“Remember folks, Don’t Steal in Seal,” it added.
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