Have you been arrested for suspicion of being involved in a mobbery? The police don’t use that term exactly, but if you were involved you probably know what they are talking about. Well of course Mr. Nice Guy can help you with confines of your immediate lock-up and explain the “wobbly” conditions of your arrest.
What is Flash Mobbery?
The technical term of this new style of crime is Organized Retail Crime (ORC) and it very closely resembles “rioting” and “looting” so those might be the terms used in the arrest. Chaotic conditions often entice opportunists to take advantage of an “incident” or a set of them. Conditions appear so spontaneously that the initial activity provokes an avalanche of destructive behavior, threatening injury to some, and theft of goods or damage to a facility. ORC is an engineered effort to create a large scene that does use the crowd as cover and distracting pursuers. The term organized implies that there is a source planning a strategy. The announcement of the mobbery location or target is made public through social media and participation is enlisted by text messages or invitations.
In trouble for mobbery or something else? Mr. Nice Guy can solve your urgent release from jail with reasonable terms that will make you smile. The licensed bail representatives at (844)-400-2245 for a fast answers 24X7.
Storming a high-end department store is an example of the Mobbery (ORC) trend. Since most of the participants were wearing ski-masks, carrying tire irons, and technically such a large group that they could not fit in a single standard vehicle. They had coordinated arrival at the same time and wore nearly identical outfits with face covering, suggesting coordination and general planning. They made just enough noise to scare off bystanders, and just enough extra people to distract security officers and staff, indicating advance preparedness for the activity. Person’s appearing in the surveillance foray who were unmasked were basically bystanders who participated in the aftermath of the chaos attracted by the commotion and perhaps a text message alert.
In publicized mobberies of the last two years, the theft included threatening employees of the store or assaulting them with pepper spray or other non-lethal substances is part of the initial incident. The mobbers were clearly overwhelming to the employees and property security or police. Other participants were simply joining in on the opportunity to take things amidst the fray caused by the more targeted members of the mob: jewelry, designer products, anything with easy access and a subdued prevention staff. Anyone reading or hearing of something going on at 8:45 PM on Friday at LOCATION and decides to go to see what it is has access to evidence of the plan. That portion of the crime is the “organized” that makes flash mobbery appear much like group reaction to a natural disaster, but there is little more than an electronic invitation or a social media update that triggers the event. These messages are communicated by text, email, and social media with assignments to block paths of first responders and promise “free stuff” to a swarm of bored youths or bystanders. The ORC focuses on a target location or area, coordinates a few specific events, and banks on how those incidents will stir the crowds to whip up chaos.
Legal Lines for Looting
With the exception of an earthquake or an explosive community reaction to a court decision (for example), most disasters are usually preceded by warnings to avoid area or shelter-inplace to protect most of the public’s lives and property. Fires and weather disasters are most frequent to use bullhorns or radio broadcast with evacuation orders, they are proclaimed “state of emergency.” The funding for help and aid to the victims is dependent on which level of government issuing the emergency. The status of the looting (California Penal code 463) charge remains intact as it was originally intended: punishment for opportunists looking to profit on someone else’s misfortune. In such cases, persons caught stealing goods from under protected stores for items that aren’t critical to survival or trespassing where they haven’t been allowed before.
Providing that the people who take loot survive and the goods that they take remain undamaged, they might reap a small profit from the ordeal. But you need to consider a disaster of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina, looters were filmed taking electronics, CDs, etc.; all are worthless without power, probably won’t work after water damage, and wouldn’t be usable until homes are rebuilt to utilize them. Clean drinking water, on the other hand was a commodity of survival and surrendered to those in need.
As a criminal charge in California, looting is a “wobbler.” Wobbler means the charge may be either a misdemeanor or a felony, with emphasis on 1) the preparedness of the looter to steal and 2) looter’s association with the area where they were caught “looting.” California’s natural and man-made disasters usually concentrate in a geographic area and subjects caught looting properties damaged by disaster or in the evacuation path of a pending disaster (fire or flood) are checked for the person’s association with the area (did they work, live, or have reason to be there). Items taken and preparedness of the arrested person(s) also establish the direction of the wobble; a full pick-up truck bed containing other people’s TVs and computers might probably wobble toward felony, a person on foot with what could be carried from a grocery store might be charged with misdemeanor if it can be proved that he took the items without permission or payment.
Probably a pivotal question in the decision between felony and misdemeanor is the use of what was taken. It’s hard to prove “profit” if the person’s condition neither benefitted nor worsened because of the disaster. The best example would be that money in hand won’t help you if there is no gas station or store to sell you what you need … like water or food.
It would cost more for a store to press charges on the stealing of a single handbag then to accept the loss. However, the removal of hundreds of items puts a real dent in inventory and unifies the corporate victims of ORC to get convictions and seek damages when possible.
If you have visions of reselling the items on-line through new or used goods sites on the sites, the credible sites want to know the products were purchased legally. Don’t think that all the persons buying on-line are all really buying because they love designer wear, they very well could be agents looking for knock-offs or stolen merchandise. If you are selling them out of your car you have to mark-down from the retail amount (for your avoiding selling without a license or other business documents). The inability to handle card/phone/or non-cash transactions doesn’t operate in favor of premium prices, you won’t get $800-1200 for the handbag (so it’s hardly worth the risk of having several in possession). The same rules apply to Jewelry and pictures to show the pieces (if not being used to create something else) are easy identifiers to a browsing store owner who was victimized by any type of robbery.
A true ORC may have its own business license and can provide accounting records to show the receipts for inventory and then sales receipt processing. Like the founders of the real American Mob, those businesses are subject to being investigated for tax fraud or other vice. Association will go as high as Federal Investigation and the knowing participants are also subject to charges in a different realm than city lock ups.
If you find yourself featured in a 6:00 news report as part of the “mob” in a destructive incident and people can point you out, watch your steps and make a confidential call to Mr. Nice Guy for sound advice (844) 400-2245 and that’s toll free from anywhere. All discussions are confidential. If you are on probation or parole, you very well can destroy that record of good behavior and freedom. Let the video show you were a bystander and not an active player in the event. If you are seen carrying anything out of the location during a mobbery, your best option is to consider speaking to an attorney with the same confidentiality.
When an incident of mobbery is documented with video footage it usually makes the evening news. Participants identified and arrested for their involvement might be publicized and that too will make the news. In such cases, damages may be sought from the establishment for losses that can include medical claims by injured employees, inventory loss, and loss of business in the aftermath. Be aware that facing the charges and being found guilty might include making financial restitution on top of jail/prison time. It does qualify as a three strike system criminal charge.
Inciting a Riot
The charge of inciting a riot (California Penal Code 404.6) is a little different than stirring up anger and doing damage to persons or property but it is, like looting in that it wobbles between a misdemeanor or felony. You don’t have to take part in the riot that was incited by you or your group. You don’t have to be injured or actively present on video to have incited the riot. Hence this charge is the tougher charge to serve harshly unless considerable damage and/or severe injury and death occurred during the riot. If it is the latter, a guilty on felony riot charges will result in up to three years of jail time. Inciting a riot inside a jail or prison facility will certainly increase any time that was customary for your arrest and charges.
If the topic of a speech (organized or impromptu) results in a riot, your encouragement or discouragement of crowd violence helps determines the felony or misdemeanor wobble direction. Like almost everything else, inciting a riot is based on whether you conveyed the messages that agitated the crowd and encouraged the result. A riot may be sparked by a demonstration or cause, but if it explodes then it must be evaluated for its claimed original purpose and what produced the damage result.
Prosecutors would have to prove that the riot was incited by your words or messages and caused the persons to take destructive action. Thus is the dilemma of the hearings regarding January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. While persons have been convicted for their involvement with the injuries, damages, and deaths (5), the hearings are still purposefully evaluating how the riot was planned and executed.
History of “Ill-Gotten” Gains
Traditional Organized Crime still exists to profit from illegal businesses like prostitution, human trafficking, narcotics, supply chain interception, gambling (anywhere that it is not legal), counterfeit or cash and goods, and of course large robberies. They flourished and gained considerable wealth in reaction to social changes and filling the consumer “demand” need in supply and demand commerce. The Volstead act of 1919 (effective in 1920) made it illegal to manufacture and sell alcoholic beverages in the United States. There was an existing demand, and the need to smuggle, distill, or otherwise “fill the need” of a wanting public truly increased the power of the crime organizations.
The Organized Retail Crime is a stepchild of organized crime in that it utilizes the tools of the current era to execute and provide the necessary cover for its harvest. Mobberies begin with a core ORC group responsible for picking the target and retrieving the bulk of the goods. Online sales from factory-direct sales sites to buyer have accounted for the slow disappearance of “brick & mortar” department stores. The surviving Big Box stores are the only places where consumers can see the difference between products in person.
ORC operates in reaction to the way the public has been steered to anchored shopping centers or areas, knowing that there is security and traditional staffing but not enough to ward off a swarm of people. They do not expect as much cash from the robbery because that’s not the way people shop any more. High-end retail establishments (designer boutiques) and consumer electronics are select targets as are general high-traffic businesses in dense population areas.
The advantage that law enforcement has over solving a mobbery is the fact that a whole lot of identifiable people who might be convinced to turn over evidence in the event they face punishment. True organized crime organizations have fewer outsiders working with them and layers of disciplined silence as a shield. The most recent televised incidents suggest participants shared an “everyone is doing it!” attitude while they paraded with their free items. Funny thing is that so many who joined in that fray can be identified. If you were there inside or on the street obstructing traffic or acting in cause of the riot, you stand a very good chance of facing charges.
Just because everyone is doing it does not make it right. Herein lies the problem, you maybe make off with a few blunts in their wrappers, packs of smokes, chips, and an armful of beer or beverages. Large corporation owners of store and insurance adjusters will look over the claim they have to pay to cover the incident. The store itself will probably close and never re-open, taking away the jobs and convenience for the neighborhood. They will closely examine the evidence they have and work to identify the players in the Flash Mob scene that were the most crucial to its damages and theft.
According to the National Retail Federation’s study of this type of Organized Retail Crime, they claim the estimated cost to retail business victims an average of over $700,000 for every $1 billion in sales. 1 By itself mobbery does not amount to much for losses but if added to lost shipments (probably better organized thefts), credit card information theft, counterfeit, and shipment theft the amount is much larger. Remember when the prices keep going up that part of that rise is to offset general product loss due to damage, and total of losses to “theft.” Consumers’ ultimately pay for the items to keep the bottom line level, no matter who is the President of the United States.
See yourself on the news in a replay of a robbery? Feeling a bit of guilt because you know you got a message asking that you take part? Already getting calls asking what were you doing there? See or call your neighborhood friend for jail troubles and get a jump on the possibilities - Mr. Nice Guy at (844)-400-2245. Check your warrant status, or the status of someone you know. That number is answered by a licensed bail agent 24 X 7.
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1 National Retail Federation “Organized Retail Crime” 2020
