'Walked right out': Customer vents about shoplifters leaving Olney Safeway without penalty

by Kevin Lewis, Montgomery County Reporter Monday, December 6th 2021

OLNEY, Md. (7News) — A frustrated Montgomery County Safeway customer took to Nextdoor.com last week to vent after she watched two shoplifters hurriedly depart the grocery store with "bulging shopping totes."

Calling it the "most brazen shoplifting" incident she has ever witnessed, the poster explained what she saw on the afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 2, inside the Safeway located at 3333 Spartan Road in Olney.

She described how two young-looking men pushed a shopping cart up and down various aisles, placing items inside along the way. A short while later, the poster said she spotted the cart empty and abandoned in the bread aisle.

"The young men were hightailing it to the front of the store, each carrying bulging shopping totes. They walked right out of the store. The store manager, cashiers, and other employees can't do anything but watch, per corporate's instruction. The employees say it happens every day," the woman wrote in her Nextdoor post.

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"Wow!! Not to mention there's a Montgomery County Police Station just across the street! Interesting they haven't placed an officer onsite since it's an ongoing issue," one person responded on Nextdoor.

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Executive Elrich says retailers can decide whether or not to call police on shoplifters

by Kevin Lewis, Montgomery County Reporter (7News) Wednesday, December 8th 2021

KENSINGTON, Md. (7News) — Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) does not believe retail stores should feel compelled to call the police in cases of shoplifting.

Elrich made the remarks Wednesday in response to a question posed by 7News reporter Kevin Lewis.

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OLNEY SAFEWAY SHOPLIFTING INCIDENT

Last Thursday, Dec. 2, a woman posted to Nextdoor.com after witnessing, what she described to be, the "most brazen shoplifting" at the Safeway on Spartan Road in Olney. The woman claimed Safeway employees told her it is a chronic problem, but company policy precludes them from intervening.

READ MORE: 'Walked right out': Customer vents about shoplifters leaving Olney Safeway without penalty

Olney resident Louis Wilen saw the woman's Nextdoor.com post and emailed Montgomery County Police to ask why they did not respond to the shoplifting incident at Safeway. The fourth district commander responded saying retailers must call 911 to report crimes, plus be willing to prosecute.

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