Suspect in one of 1st post-Proposition 36 cases in Bay Area appears in court

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Last November voters passed Proposition 36, making it, in some cases, a felony when committing retail theft, rather than just a misdemeanor.

One of the first post-Prop 36 cases in the Bay Area was in court on Thursday.

Marcos Smith-Pequeno has been charged with several organized retail theft incidents, specifically targeting a Walgreens in San Francisco's Noe Valley neighborhood twice.

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"They did a sort of flash mob style shoplifting where they entered the store in large numbers, overwhelmed the staff and ran out with products," said Dave Burke, who is the San Francisco police liaison for District 8, which includes Noe Valley.

Smith-Pequeno of Pittsburg has several prior incidents dating back to 2018 in Contra Costa County, including petty theft and grand theft charges as well as alcohol-related reckless driving.

Because of those prior offenses, he has been charged with a felony under Proposition 36. The measure was approved by voters last year - fed up with repeat robberies at local stores.

He was supposed to be in jail while awaiting trial for the Walgreens incidents but was released last Friday by Judge Gerado Sandoval which caused District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to, once again, criticize some judges for being too lenient.

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"It's always in the hands of the court to make that decision and so we did everything that we could in this case and will do everything we can going forward but it is incumbent upon the judges to be responsible and to take public safety into account," said Jenkins.

Smith-Pequeno did make an appearance Thursday and has agreed to be supervised by the court while he awaits his trial.

In the meantime, police now have a patrol car in front of the Noe Valley Walgreens which has been targeted many times before.

Last Monday, Walgreens installed a camera in front of the store and upgraded other cameras inside to make it easier for police to identify anyone committing a crime.

"That makes arrests much easier to make, identifications easier to make and cases much more straightforward for the district attorney," said Burke.