Thief groups target two high-end stores in California

During the robbery, the suspects assaulted and pepper sprayed a security guard, Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said. At least one of the suspects wore an orange wig, KABC reported. CNN has contacted the LAPD for more information.

Also on Wednesday, police said at least four people stole $ 20,000 worth of merchandise from an Apple store in Santa Rosa, about 90 miles north of San Francisco.

“In a cheeky daytime burglary in front of customers and staff, suspects seized more than $ 20,000 in merchandise from the store and fled the area in an unknown vehicle,” Santa Rosa police said in a statement.

The suspects were between 14 and 18 years old and were wearing masks, police said.

The thefts come amid a recent spate of “smash-and-grab” crime.

At least 18 people broke into the Grove’s Nordstrom department store in Los Angeles on Monday and stole thousands of dollars in merchandise, LAPD chief Michel Moore said. Three people were arrested, he said.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, a group of thieves stormed the Southland Mall in Hayward on Sunday night, wielding hammers to smash crates at a jewelry store before grabbing items and running away. And east of San Francisco, three suspects were arrested Saturday night after a mob ransacked a Nordstrom department store in Walnut Creek.

In suburban Chicago, 14 people broke into a Louis Vuitton store last week and fled with more than $ 100,000 in handbags and other merchandise.

CNN’s Andy Rose and Stella Chan contributed to this report.