The deadly confrontation between a chronic shoplifter and a CVS store clerk shocked the city — but those who work in retail say dealing with an epidemic of shoplifting has become a troubling part of their working days.
New York City has been hit with a post-COVID spike in shoplifting, with petty larcenies jumping 44% between 2021 and 2022. Employees at beauty stores, drug stores and supermarkets told The Daily News they grapple with confronting people taking items from their stores.
Some, after seeing people try to sneak out with stolen goods in hiking backpacks, grocery carts, plastic bags and in their pants pockets, try to calmly ask them to return the items. Others don’t see the risk as worth it, no matter how much merchandise they might take from the store.
Alex J., 30, an employee at Eve Beauty Source on Eighth Ave. in Midtown, says he often squabbles with shoplifters.
“It happens all the time,” he said. “They get angry … They knock down shelves and leave angry, saying they’ll come back next week.”
The deadly confrontation at CVS took place July 6, when Charles Brito punched store clerk Scotty Enoe in the face as Enoe tried to prevent him from shoplifting. The two men, prosecutors say, had tangled before, but this time Enoe pulled out a knife and stabbed Brito in the torso. Enoe is facing charges in the killing.
The possibility of a fight can put him on edge even when things are going fine at the store, where employees have the personal numbers of cops on speed dial and there are two large screens prominently displayed in the store, showing dozen of camera angles.
“A lot of homeless people take stuff from the store,” Alex J. said. “We watch them back on the cameras.”
As of July 2, petit larcenies in the Midtown North precinct jumped 14.6% — with 170 more cases this year than 2022 — according to NYPD stats. Compared to the same period in 2021, the precinct saw a huge 54.4% jump in petit larcenies.
In response to the surge in shoplifting,…
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