BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

California toy store repeatedly hit by thieves

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ALAMEDA, Calif. (NewsNation Now) — A California toy store owner says she is “at my wits’ end” after thieves and robbers have targeted her store multiple times, forcing her to pay tens of thousands of dollars for added security.

“We almost went under,” Helen Dean, the owner of Toy Safari in Alameda, said on “NewsNation Prime.” “In fact, each of the attacks … we’ve had to assess and evaluate and come to a decision and I don’t think I could take much more.”

Toy Safari has been hit three times, with Legos and Pokemon cards the primary target.

“I think that toy stores are notoriously accessible and easygoing and friendly and therefore vulnerable,” Dean said.

NewsNation has been highlighting recent retail theft problems ahead of the holidays.

National retail groups last month estimated the annual losses to be in the tens of billions of dollars. Some states’ attorneys general are supporting a congressional bill that would require more prevention efforts by large online marketplaces, where experts say many of the stolen goods are fenced.

“We’re doing everything that’s been recommended to us,” Dean said. “We’ve changed our glass to laminated glass at really high expense, and we put in over 20 cameras in the store. And we have alarms on all of our glass now and our doors.”

So far, the alarm system has not been bypassed. Dean hopes it stays that way.

“I get a lot of support from the community,” Dean said. “We have very loyal customers who have been coming in and that’s really what keeps us going.”

Holidays On Alert

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241202111905

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Haze

la

58°F Haze Feels like 58°
Wind
2 mph S
Humidity
77%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to considerable cloudiness and fog after midnight. Low 48F. Winds light and variable.
48°F Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to considerable cloudiness and fog after midnight. Low 48F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph NNW
Precip
13%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waxing Crescent