LA luxury mall latest to be hit by smash-and-grab thieves

By EUGENE GARCIA and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police say a group of thieves smashed windows at a department store at a luxury mall. The latest incident in a trend of smash-and-grab crimes is part of a national trend that targeted a Nordstrom store late Monday. It came as the country’s largest consumer electronics chain said that an increase in organized theft was taking a toll on its bottom line.  The incident follows at least four smash and grabs last weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area. Experts say the thefts are run by criminal enterprises who sell the goods online and most of the thieves are armed.