Two women were caught on camera assaulting loss prevention agents at a store they shoplifted from, the third violent shoplifting case in the area this week.
Police said the two women were seen acting suspicious at the department store and managed to hide $180 worth of merchandise in their purses. When they were approached by loss prevention agents, the two suspects allegedly assaulted them. One of the suspects allegedly bit one of the agents.
Fresno Police Sgt. Mark Hudson said a similar robbery happened the same day when Brandon Whetten allegedly more than $500 worth of merchandise from a Home Depot. Whetten was also accused of assaulting the store’s loss prevention agents. Because the suspects assaulted agents who tried to stop them, the charges were upgraded to felony robbery.
A third similar robbery happened Saturday when police said a man stole two cans of beer from a convenience store and assaulted loss prevention agents. Hudson said there has been an increase in these types of robberies.
"There’s certainly something that we don’t want to see happen," said Hudson. "We don’t want to see people getting injured, we don’t want to see anybody getting hurt over a small amount of money."
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