Clovis Police clarifies looting, burglary and robbery

At roughly 10:15 p.m. on May 31, a group of 10-15 people were caught on security cameras breaking into Sierra Vista Mall’s Target and stealing alcohol and electronics. (Courtesy of Clovis PD facebook)

As images and news of businesses being broken into and stolen from during protests and riots across the country have become pervasive, there may be some uncertainty among the general public as to what constitutes looting, burglary and robbery.

Clovis Police Department Lt. James Munro clarified what each crime is and how they are punished in Clovis and California.

The difference between looting and burglary is not particularly significant in regards to the actions taken by the perpetrators.

Burglary, Munro said, is “anytime that someone enters a structure, building or even a vehicle with the intent to steal or commit a felony.”

The punishment for burglary in the first degree in California consists of imprisonment in state prison for two, four or six years. Second-degree burglary is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year or in the county jail for a term of 16 months, 2 years or 3 years, under California Penal Code section 461.

Looting, on the other hand, is essentially burglary that occurs during a period in which the local or state government has declared a state of emergency.

Also, looting does not require a person breaking in, while burglary does, Munro said.

“In a typical burglary, if you break the window and go in, you broke the window and went in,” he said. “With looting, the window is already broken, the door is already broken, so you don’t have to do that but you can still go in. That still falls under the looting code.”

California’s zero-dollar bail policy that was instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus in jails does not apply for cases of looting.

In May, three people were arrested and charged with grand theft, looting and conspiracy to commit a crime after allegedly stealing $14,000 worth of merchandise from a Dick’s Sporting Goods in Clovis. They did not break into the store, which is a reason they were not charged with burglary.

Additionally, 10-15 people were caught on video breaking into a Clovis Target store Sunday, May 31. Munro said that the crime is technically being investigated as a burglary, but the suspects could be charged with looting because it took place during a state of emergency.

Robbery, on the other hand, is the most serious offense of the three in the eyes of California law.

The crime consists of the person committing it to using force or fear to take something that does not belong to them

“For instance, a commercial retail establishment has someone come in and they try and steal and either the security or management tries to stop them – if there is some type of force or fear used where the manager or security guard gets pushed or they say ‘you better move or I am going to kill you’ – that then is a robbery,” Munro said. “We use the robbery charge quite a bit, actually.”

Robbery in California comes with the charges in either the first or second degree. Those convicted of first-degree robbery face a sentence of up to nine years in state prison, while second-degree robbery is punishable by up to five years in prison. Each crime can also come with fines as much as $10,000 in addition to the prison sentence.

Munro said that Clovis has been fortunate to not have seen a spike in these types of crimes since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“We have been very lucky in Clovis. We have not seen a dramatic increase in these types of crimes. We have seen some theft that has occurred once the stores reopened,” Munro said. “But to be honest, we haven’t had that magnitude. It has been business as usual in the city of Clovis and we’re very happy about that.”

Michael graduated from Fresno State in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in print journalism. During his time at the university, he served as sports and managing editor for The Collegian, Fresno State’s student-run newspaper. In addition to the Clovis Roundup, Michael has written for The Fresno Bee, the Kingsburg Recorder and Selma Enterprise. He has a passion for sports and can be found on the sidelines at local games, bringing the citizens of Clovis the athletics news they deserve.