In the video, employees and customers are in shock as the first thief fills her bag with clothes. Then another walks by with arms overflowing with hanging clothes. And finally, two people casually walk out of the store with stolen merchandise while alarms sound.
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Sgt. David Spencer says, "Kind of scary when they enter a store like that in the middle of the morning, Sunday morning, and just began loading up bags and bags of property that didn't belong to them."
These thieves were ready. They put a plastic bag on the rear license plate so the getaway car couldn't be identified. And they walked into the store with a bunch of empty shopping bags ready to fill up.
Three men and two women were recorded on a store employee's cell phone.
No one, including store security, tried to stop the thieves because of a hands-off store policy.
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Plus, police say, they were scared.
Sgt. Spencer said, "They try to put fear into these people when committing the thefts so they don't get interfered with."
I showed the cell phone video to shoppers-- they all found it disturbing.
Shopper Nathan Poladyan said, "Shocking! I don't understand how people can just walk in and take stuff. Makes you feel unsafe anywhere you go because what if they have weapons and stuff. I don't know."
Kim Chase, of Sacramento, said, "It's really really bad for the consumers I think. It's bad for so many different people to come in and want to buy stuff and there are people who come in and steal. It's not fair"