Businesses Located Along the Retail-Heavy Avenue Have Been the Target of Several Robberies in the Past Year
A now-viral video shows a local store manager breaking into a furious rage at a suspected shoplifter.
The footage captures the moment that Amber Jolly, a store manager at Gramercy Boutique located at the intersection of 14th Street and Montana Avenue, confronted an individual who alleged shoplifting a tote bag full of clothes. In the video, Jolly can be heard screaming “You give me my jacket right now!” and “Don’t steal from my f—g store!” at the alleged thief.
“What compelled me is that I know the owner works very hard to keep this business open.” Jolly said in an interview with local news station KCAL News. “Businesses are closing left and right because of all this looting going on. The system’s broken. Nothing is being done about it.”
According to KCAL, SMPD did not immediately confirm a police report was issued over the incident and that the store’s owner told Jolly her confrontational behavior was not necessary.
Businesses located along the retail-heavy Montana Avenue in Santa Monica have been the target of several robberies in the past year.
In September of 2023, weeks before a suspect pointed a firearm at employees and robbed the First Citizens Bank location on the tree-lined street, three dining spots on Montana Ave. were broken into by suspects described as wearing ski masks and fleeing in a dark-colored sedan. The thieves smashed windows of all three locations, which included those of frozen yogurt franchise Pinkberry and coffeehouse Bardonna, while vegan restaurant Margo’s was also robbed of several thousand dollars in cash.
The video can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCFkmB9UzNc.
