Trust me, I was ready to put this topic away for a while since my last post, but what I'm sharing with you today is yet another complete jaw-dropper for any rational, law-abiding citizen to bear.
I'm talking about shoplifting, a problem big enough to have a fancier term for it: "retail theft". This property crime has gotten so bad in the state of Washington that it's now #1 in the country. In fact, the problem is so bad that numerous retail stores in the area have been forced to close for that reason alone.
Before we feel compelled to start rationalizing the situation by saying that the current state of the economy has created this monster, the opposite is true; shoplifting--at least here--has gone largely unpunished for decades, even before the big numbers you'll see below. Right along with jaywalking (a much lesser offence), it has historically been considered a "nuisance crime" and not a big enough deal for our understaffed and over-work law enforcement to bother with. No one considered the devastating impact it had on retail stores, I guess.
And let's not forget the notorious "flash robs" that were occurring with alarming frequency a few years ago. A 2025 FBI report analyzed data from 2020-2024 and found over $8 million in stolen goods and $51,000 in property damage from these incidents. Clothing and fur were the most frequently stolen items. Not food, luxury items!
Charlie Harger is a daily radio host on Seattle's KIRO Newsradio. Earlier this month he reported on one city (east of Seattle) that's quite had enough, thank you, and they're starting to detain, arrest and--wait for it--prosecute the offenders. Read below how they are dealing with the issue. Three cheers for Issaquah!
WA leads the nation in retail theft. Issaquah shows how to fix it
By Charlie Harger |January 6, 2026 | Mynorthwest.com
The Issaquah Police Department posted on Facebook last month, which made me take note.
They ran a shoplifting sting at Marshalls and HomeGoods in the Highlands. Here’s the line that got me: “A common reaction we get when arresting shoplifters is their shock and surprise to learn they are really under arrest and will be booked into jail.”
Shock. Surprise. That they’re going to jail. For stealing.
These aren’t dumb people. They’ve done the math. In most cities around here, you can walk into a store, fill a bag, and walk out. Maybe a security guard yells. Maybe a cop shows up 45 minutes later with a citation. Maybe you get a court date and skip it. Maybe a warrant gets issued that nobody serves. At every step, the odds favor walking away. Thieves know this. They’ve learned it.
Then they try it in Issaquah. Different rules.
Why Issaquah’s shoplifting enforcement is different
Issaquah has its own jail. They run stings with loss prevention. They book you on the spot. And suddenly, all those outstanding warrants from Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett pop up in the system.
Shoplifting in Issaquah dropped 15% last year. Not a coincidence.
Some background. King County lifted its misdemeanor booking restrictions last February. During COVID, the jail wouldn’t take low-level offenders. Staffing shortages. Capacity issues. Fine. But that ended over a year ago. Seattle can book shoplifters now. The policy changed. The culture didn’t.
And we’re paying for it.
Fred Meyer closures and the cost of retail theft in WA
Fred Meyer [Kroger] is closing stores across the region. Theft was a major factor. Nobody who’s shopped at one of those stores is surprised. I talked about this last year. It was the drugs driving the problem. Still is. But it’s also the stealing. And it’s also the complete absence of accountability that lets both spiral out of control.
When the same people walk in day after day and walk out with merchandise, the store eventually does the math, too. They leave.
Washington loses $3 billion a year to retail theft. We run 40-48% higher than the national average. Washington consistently ranks No. 1 nationally for retail theft impact. Target closed stores. Seattle lost its 24-hour pharmacies. The stores that stay open are starting to look like prison commissaries. Everything behind plexiglass. Push a button, wait for someone to unlock it. Detergent. Toothpaste. Deodorant. Razors. Socks. Underwear.
Is this really who we are now?
Issaquah proved shoplifting enforcement works
Issaquah proved it doesn’t have to be this way. Enforce the law, and people stop breaking it. Not because they suddenly become model citizens. Because they learn the odds have changed.
The rest of us have the same tools now. We have jail beds. We have laws on the books. We have stores begging for help. The only thing missing is the will to act.
We get what we tolerate. And right now, we’re tolerating way too much.
The shoplifters in Issaquah were shocked they got arrested. Maybe the rest of us should be shocked that in a lot of places around here, they wouldn’t be.
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But wait! That's not all.
When I was putting together this post, this hit my news feed and it's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. The shame of it is that this pathological criminal got away with so much before they had enough on him for a case to stick. I wonder if we'll ever find out what his sentence is--that is, if he's convicted.
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| Photo of the suspect on his way out of the store with a bag full of cosmetics. |
Man charged with organized retail theft after repeat shoplifting at Ulta stores
by KOMO News Staff | January 17, 2026 | Komonews.com
SEATTLE — A King County man accused of repeatedly shoplifting from Ulta Beauty stores across the region has been charged with multiple felony counts of organized retail theft following a weeks-long investigation, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors charged David Joseph Gama on Thursday with three counts of first-degree organized retail theft.
The charges stem from an investigation that spanned 55 days and included 24 reported theft incidents, beginning Nov. 10, 2025, and ending Jan. 4.
Court documents say Gama is accused of taking merchandise from Ulta Beauty stores ranging from north Seattle to Federal Way.
Gama is accused of retail theft at the following Ulta Beauty stores:
- 15 repeat shoplifting incidents at the store on Aurora Ave N
- 5 repeat incidents at the West Seattle location
- 1 shoplifting incident at the Tukwila location
- 1 shoplifting incident at the Federal Way location
Investigators allege Gama was responsible for $18,4260.80 in losses during the investigation, while only $1,678.80 worth of merchandise was recovered at the time of his arrest.
One Ulta Beauty store manager told investigators that approximately $25,000 to $30,000 worth of fragrance had been stolen during the thefts.
Gama has an extensive criminal history in Washington state, according to probable cause documents. He has been arrested 50 times since 1985 and has five felony convictions, 19 gross misdemeanor convictions and 11 misdemeanor convictions.
Gama pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday.
A defense motion to reduce or release bail was denied, and he remains in the King County Jail on $50,000 bail. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
In a statement, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said most shoplifting cases are handled as misdemeanors at the city level and do not reach county prosecutors.
“The overwhelming majority of shoplifting cases are misdemeanor offenses under the law, meaning that they are handled at the city level and do not come to King County prosecutors,” the office said. “When you have evidence to show organized retail theft allegations in cases such as this one, a case is referred by police investigators as a felony referral.”
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| Click to view larger image. |
Prosecutors also pointed to a broader rise in property crime cases. Last year, King County prosecutors charged 640 cases in which the most serious offense was an economic or property crime, the highest number since 2019. In 2024, there were 506 such cases — a 26% year-over-year increase — compared with 367 cases in 2023.
“These are not ‘just property crimes’ as we sometimes hear in court,” the prosecutor’s office said. “These are real crimes that affect employees of businesses large and small, and those costs are passed on to consumers, or stores close. There needs to be appropriate accountability, and King County prosecutors are one step of that.”
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