By Guy Page
As retail theft and other drug-related crimes plague Vermont businesses and communities, one local police department is cautioning citizens against taking perpetrators of retail theft into their own hands – literally.
On September 6, Berlin police responded to the parking lot of Walmart for a report of a group of shoppers who had an alleged shoplifter restrained to the ground.
The man was identified as David Lefebvre of Berlin. He was taken into custody, charged with retail theft, and cited to appear in court in early November. Lefebvre’s motive for the alleged retail theft is not known. The police statement reporting this incident included several cautionary warnings to citizens, including: “Taking the law into your own hands can result in unintended consequences and may even lead to further harm or escalation of the situation.”
Retail theft from Walmart and other stores, as well as vehicles in the parking lot, is an ongoing problem at the central Vermont shopping mall. Last week, employees of Planet Fitness were seen running out of the gym in response to a situation in the parking lot. Minutes later observers saw Berlin police and the employees gathered around a woman – not an employee – lying in the grass with two dogs. The officer was instructing the crowd to disperse.
This isn’t the first recent instance of patrons trying to stop a retail thief.
On August 23, state troopers received a call about the theft of a purse at the Price Chopper located on Memorial Dr in St. Johnsbury. Troopers learned that a female grabbed the 56-year-old Lyndon victim’s purse from her arm and ran out of the store. She was pursued by patrons and the victim, but was able to enter into a 2002 BMW X5 bearing New Hampshire plates, which was being operated by another person. The purse contained credit cards, identification and a Samsung Galaxy. The alleged purse/car thief – Ryann Cram, 32, of St. Johnsbury – was later found at the home of another criminal suspect. She was arrested, cited, and released.
Last December, patrons of a Rutland store forcibly stopped an alleged shoplifter who was wheeling unpaid goods in a shopping cart out of the store, according to a VTDigger report.
Legal status of retail theft – Prosecution and subsequent punishment of retail thieves has become a sore spot among many Vermont retailers – and, apparently, store patrons. State law says “A person convicted of the offense of retail theft of merchandise having a retail value not in excess of $900 shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. A person convicted of the offense of retail theft of merchandise having a retail value in excess of $900 shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.”
In practice, the theft of less than $900 of goods from a store has become less likely to prosecute in a Vermont court. In some municipalities, including Burlington, police and prosecutors respond slowly or not at all to complaints of retail theft, as a Vermont Daily Chronicle report described. Retailers are resorting to locking the front door during working hours and installing additional after-hours security – including in one case loudspeakers warning trespassers caught on camera approaching the property to leave immediately.
A bill introduced by Rep. Martin LaLonde (D-South Burlington) in the 2019 Legislature raising to $2000 the value of the stolen merchandise for a felony retail theft did not pass. The bill also would have toughened punishment for organized retail theft.
Statewide problem – Retail theft is not just a Burlington, Rutland and Berlin problem. In Morristown – for one example – residents packed a community forum demanding solutions after a summertime crimewave saw more than half-a-dozen local businesses hit by thieves, the September 7 News & Citizen reports. Burglaries and retail thefts in Morrisville have become so prevalent this year that a police department announcement a week before was already outdated,” reporter Tommy Gardner wrote.
Police shared the following information at the Morristown forum:
Repeat offenders – Of the 256 people arrested for 590 total offenses from January 1, 2022 through September 2023, 109 accounted for three-quarters of the alleged offenses. One man was accused of 23 offenses during that time.
Drugs drive the crime – Police chief Jason Luneau the town has seen ‘huge increases’ in crack and fentanyl sales sourced from Hartford, CT and Lowell, MA, the News & Citizen reported. Whether the crimes are retail theft, burglary, or drug trafficking, they’re caused by the need for illegal drugs.
Retail theft is also a growing national problem. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, organized retail theft is now costing businesses $700,000 per billion in sales. In particular, out-of-state retail theft rings methodically go from store to store in an area. The pandemic-related backlog in the courts in Vermont nationwide is also contributing to thieves declining fear of prosecution.
Still, frustrated citizens shouldn’t take the law into their own hands, the Berlin Police Department says.
“The Berlin Police Department must advise against taking the law into your own hands,” the BPD press release about the incident stated. “While it can be frustrating to witness injustice or experience wrongdoing, it is important to remember that there are legal systems and authorities in place to handle these situations.
Taking the law into your own hands can result in unintended consequences and may even lead to further harm or escalation of the situation. Remember, respect for law and order helps to maintain a peaceful and just society.”
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Categories: Crime
Since the legal system and the police aren’t doing their jobs, WE THE CITIZENS ARE GOING TO DO IT. BECAUSE DOING NOTHING PROMOTES IT FURTHER AND WE PAY FOR IT IN THE LONG RUN WITH HIGHER PRICES AT STORES TO MAKE UP FOR IT.
Due to pervasive thievery by junkies, deadbeats and those who consider themselves entitled “victims” of an uncaring society, law-abiding shoppers/consumers are subject to higher prices, the inconvenience of certain items being unavailable or kept under lock and sometimes having our favorite stores closed down or relocated. As I see it, there is therefore a legal standing in “becoming involved” to prevent said thievery. I have to admit that every time I enter a retail establishment that is known to be chronically targeted, I fantasize about the opportunity to tackle some fleeing miscreant in the doorway, accidentally of course, as I clumsily trip or shove a shopping cart in their path and they resist. Just never admit it was your intent to “take the law into your own hands”. If we didn’t have a legislature made up of liberal bed wetters, elected by a majority of liberal bed wetters, we could get a law passed making the maximum penalty for assaulting a shoplifter a $10 fine. Or we could go back to having State’s Attorneys who actually prosecute criminal activity. Ultimately it is the voters of Vermont who have brought this scenario upon us.
From the article: “Remember, respect for law and order helps to maintain a peaceful and just society.”
Totally agree, but failure of the law to provide order promotes disrespect and encourages law breakers to make this a dangerous, unjust society.
Those who know me know, as a former prosecutor, I am a big supporter of law enforcement, but it should be a crime for those, including prosecutors, who we call law enforcers, to look the other way and not enforce the law when there are retail crimes occurring all around them.
The system is a joke when all that a perpetrator gets is a citation and later has the case dismissed for failure to prosecute. The most culpable here are leftist prosecutors and spineless judges who should take a course in punishment and deterrence before they are allowed to work at such a profession.
If the police are going to advise citizens not to take law into their own hands, they should make the need for that happening rare and unusual and then such a statement would be understood and respected by folks.
…Oh, and I forgot to mention that So. Burlington Rep.Martin LaLonde is an idiot who wants to make life easier for dirtbags and thieves while making it harder for law-abiding, decent people to defend ourselves from them…
Thanks Snowman, Good comment
“Taking the law into your own hands can result in unintended consequences and may even lead to further harm or escalation of the situation.”
Or maybe they will not come back to do it again after they are “cited and released”
We the Citizens of the US have the right to stop a crime. No law exists to stop us.
We the Citizens of the US have the expectation of law enforcement actually doing their job and if they do not, we will.
(Funny the SC says they have no obligation to protect, unless in custody, so only criminals get police protection… that’s screwy)
We the Citizens of the US can and will defend ourselves, our treasure and if need be the health and welfare of others , especially if a cop has better things to do, like income generation, which I feel is more important to them.
We have Citizen Journalist because the press will not tell us the truth, looks like we have another job We the people have to do.
I have a video of how I was assaulted in Rutland Vermont..
It’s a long story starting with police chief Brian Kilcullen who verbally assaulted me and during my first conversation with him about squatters… I never mentioned squatters to him but he decided to open the conversation about that and not about the assault that took place at the hands of the squatters…
This has been an ongoing issue in which three police officers and the chief have not been honest about a video they were presented with the clearly shows the assault…
I attended two police commission police commission meetings a year ago where I asked questions that still have not been answered to this day.
I attended another police commission meeting about two weeks ago looking for the same answers and never got them and adding questions to the list…
However I get the same lies from chairman of the board Sean Sargent who told me I belonged in handcuffs and I violated the civil rights of the person who assaulted me… I mentioned that in two meetings a year ago and in the last meeting he decided to say he never spoke those words..
False information has been submitted to the state’s attorney by a police officer with the help of Sean Sargent.
I believe that is a crime in the state of Vermont…
It’s unbelievable how the lies flow and they are defended by the police chief..
I also spoke to Sharon Davis who, is the chair of the oversight committee on the board of alderman for the police…
She spoke to the chief and to Sean Sargent and said she’s getting two stories..and that was the end of the story..
I have requested from her time to speak with the board of alderman and she told me it’s not necessary that she already has the story.
It is unbelievable that crime in the city of Vermont committed by our police department is allowed to go unchecked…
Well I’m going to keep pursuing it because I believe the police or accountable for their actions and should be removed if they are lying while performing their duties to serve and protect…
I’ll be at the next police commission meeting and I would ask that if any of you are really interested in what’s going on to please attend…
Lies and more lies. Who can expect anything else when we have a serial liar for a president, for pete’s sake.
You’re sadly correct Richard. The law now seems only to allow criminals to be free without consequences. Many police, lawyers, State’s Attny, etc etc are letting everything go because they are being promoted and benefit from those actions. Why? Likely this lack of enforcing the law along with WOKE-ism in schools moves us closer toward communism. It has crept in slowly but now moving rapidly. We must remember that there are more of us than them. It’s way past time to do something to stop this progressive freight train which is destroying our country.
It’s just another step (failing to arrest and prosecute criminal behavior) in the destruction of our civilization. It is well documented, over hundreds of years and many regimes/civilizations/societies, the steps needed to bring a totalitarian state into being. We are at the precipice and about to capitulate due to apathy. We shall see, shall we not?
While the polices hands may be tied, mine are not.
When it comes to defending ones own, a proportional response is appropriate in the absence of supporting actions.
I am all in favor of letting the justice system work when it is allowed to work.
Warning for all the low lives who believe they are entitled to do whatever they
want, like stealing whatever they want !!
Taxpaying hard-working Vermonters will and should take matters into their own
hands, even if you could get the police to respond ?? not likely as most have
been de-funded, with a limited headcount, they would be ten minutes too late.
Hey liberals, we’ll even help you keep your belongings, while you wet yourself !!
FYI, I had a package stolen off my porch a week ago, the low life saw my camera
and tried to sneak around, to bad the moron didn’t see the second camera, we do
have his full picture, the police didn’t seem interested, but justice will be severed,
as we are entitled also…………………crooks always return….. morons !!
Excellent comments, my fellow citizens. If the police and the ‘afraid-to-be-labeled-a racist’ politicians would show a little backbone and do their jobs to enhance the well-being and protection of its LAW ABIDING citizens, then there would be no need for us to take matters into our own hands. This policy of catch and release, not only for illegal immigrants but also thieves and drug dealers, is leading to the destruction of our country. The laws are being ignored, scorned and stomped upon by these social (in)justice ‘warriors’. It is our DUTY to deal with such negligence by our officials in the appropriate manner to maintain a civil society.
“A bill introduced by Rep. Martin LaLonde (D-South Burlington) in the 2019 Legislature raising to $2000 the value of the stolen merchandise for a felony retail theft did not pass. The bill also would have toughened punishment for organized retail theft.”
Sounds to me like ole Marty needs weekly thefts from his place valued at $1999.00. See if his tune changes then. He about peed himself when someone spray painted his garage door this year or last. Also maybe he can have these poor misunderstood people over to his place for dinner every weekend and they can have workshops and interpretive dances expressing the inequities in society that they have to suffer.
Looks to me,being law enforcement has their hands tied,folks have had enough.
Now if they could only take that vigor, and go in mass, to the polling booth, and oust all leftists, in power, then perhaps Law Enforcement will be freed to enforce the laws, and the people can let their guard down a bit.
It’s a pity it has come to this but the system is broken, and the woke crown did the breaking.
Oust them!
Excuse me,Woke crowd,not woke crown.
“it is important to remember that there are legal systems and authorities in place to handle these situations. “
There may legal systems in place but authorities in place to handle these situations?
I beg to differ.
Just stating a fact not advocating either way.
When the bad guys know that if they are seen they will be thwarted, they may stop being bad guys, or at least be more stealth.
The police exist to protect and serve the public, we pay them well and they work for us, we do not work for them.
“In practice, the theft of less than $900 of goods from a store has become less likely to prosecute in a Vermont court. In some municipalities, including Burlington, police and prosecutors respond slowly or not at all to complaints of retail theft, as a Vermont Daily Chronicle report described.”
This is what happens when you have a State’s Attorney who refuses to prosecute BIPOC suspects. Since the Cops know that responding to that call is going to be a waste of manpower they don’t have, the call goes unanswered. The result is what you see happening in Burlington now, an explosion of retail theft bad enough to drive some stores out of town.
…not only stores have packed up and left but Burlington’s policies and moonbat attitudes have also driven out many shoppers and patrons of other businesses, services, restaurants etc. Starve the beast.
Also, in the last 24 hours I have been to two different stores that were totally manned by one girl. These girls were early twenties. According to both, there is just no one willing to work.
So dangerous for both those young woman.
We got the BLUE STATE BLUES – run by lunatics without a clue.
The devil is running the show and we’re paying him the dues
When will we see real justice and perp walks for all to review
We all suffer because of Dem/Prog/RINOs and their wealthy ghouls
We can’t even believe the news
All because the deep state has given us the Blue State Blues (and COVID too!).
Sounds like a bunch of vigilantes here! The government has warned about people like you.
Wait till your house or property gets stolen and then tell me how you feel about it
In many vermont cities there are streets that people can not walk safely at night. In Bennington there are two streets that drug dealers, gangs from Lowell mass have taken over the entire street. What is leadership,doing?mthe VTGOP? The governor? Every vt town knows who and where the drug dealers are. If you don’t a quick 30 minute investigation will reveal things quickly. Riddle me this, the average working man can’t find an affordable home, yet drug dealers do business with impunity. It’s all about reaping what you sow. We make it impossible to do normal needed business, but we don’t need a permit to deal drugs and ther is no penalty. Yet if you build in violation of zoning you will face the full rath of government.
And this is why we are where we are. Homeless and doing drugs.
VERMONTERS here is you sign, Montpelier isn’t working.
It’s time that the town’s people, you know, the ones who pay taxes and raise their children there, to take control and make the rules NOT some social justice schmuck from Montpelier.
” Lefebvre’s motive for the alleged retail theft is not known.”
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say he wanted something for free.
Remember not all Republicans are actually conservative, but NO democrat is actually a Republican. Vet who you vote for and stop being one issue voters. Things are not bad enough yet…..until like you said those making the law are personally affected by their communist policies they will not change.