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Looters arrested after hitting Citrus Heights store, fleeing at 100 MPH

Updated June 6, 1:36 p.m.–
Sentinel staff report– The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday released additional details about charges in 13 looting-related incidents in the county, including one at a Boost Mobile store on the corner of Greenback Lane and Auburn Boulevard.

Authorities said a man and woman were seen fleeing from the store at 6176 Auburn Blvd. around 2:50 a.m. early Monday morning. The suspects’ vehicle reportedly sped off as police approached, ran a red light and exceeded speeds of 100 miles per hour.

The pair were subsequently arrested, with an infant found in a car seat in the rear of the vehicle. Suspect names were not released.

According to the DA’s office, the pair were charged with commercial burglary, looting, reckless evasion of a peace officer, child endangerment, and receiving stolen property.

Citrus Heights police make arrests after looting, vandalism incidents

Citrus Heights police said Monday that multiple arrests were made in the city for “isolated” looting and vandalism-related incidents. Damage was observed on the front windows of Sunrise Mall and Ulta in the Sunrise MarketPlace.

Police said additional patrols are on the streets as a preventative measure, as protests stemming from the death of George Floyd in Minnesota continue in the region and nation, some of which have been accompanied by looting.

Following a state of emergency being declared in March, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement advising that “greatly enhanced” criminal penalties are now in effect under California’s looting law. The law goes into effect whenever a state of emergency has been declared.

California’s looting law, described in section 463 of the State Penal Code, makes violations “punishable criminally by incarceration in county jail [or] prison for up to three years and a fine of up to $10,000, with a mandatory minimum sentence of six months in county jail,” according to the DA’s office.

The looting statute applies to anyone who, during a state of emergency, enters a building or structure “with the intent to steal any property, no matter its value,” authorities said. The law also mandates that sentences be served in state prison, if the item stolen is a firearm.

Citrus Heights declared a local state of emergency on March 19 and extended the declaration last month, making the city eligible for federal and state reimbursements and also making looting law enhancements remain in effect.

*This article was first published in The Sentinel’s June 4th Midweek e-Edition and has been updated to include a definition of California’s looting laws. Click here to get The Sentinel delivered to your inbox twice a week, free.

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