Delaware AG Investigates Shoplifting of 500K Rounds of Ammunition from Cabelas

[MTT TL]

I think we have all seen videos of shoplifting run complete amuck and into the area of organized crime. 500K rounds over six months is quite a lot. That would be 10,000 50 round boxes. Since Cabelas is expensive this is likely around $5,000,000 at retail. Kind of surprised they did nothing to stop it.

Criminals obviously don't buy ammunition. I wonder if the next step will be for Delaware to start regulating the purchase of ammo.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...9a128a19&ei=21

[44 AMP]

I wonder if the next step will be for Delaware to start regulating the purchase of ammo.

Because if a THIEF doesn't show ID and pass a background check, THEN they are committing a CRIME???

[MTT TL]

It's a non-solution, to a non-problem that restricts civil rights so yes, it's exactly how gun grabbers think.

[BarryLee]

The sad thing is that often the same people attacking Cabela's will fight for minimal punishment for the criminals when they are caught.

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by MTT TL

I think we have all seen videos of shoplifting run complete amuck and into the area of organized crime. 500K rounds over six months is quite a lot. That would be 10,000 50 round boxes. Since Cabelas is expensive this is likely around $5,000,000 at retail. Kind of surprised they did nothing to stop it.

Assuming an average price of around $1 per round, 500k rrounds would be worth $500,000, not $5,000,000. That would be $10 per round, which is pretty steep even for Cabelas.

What do you want to bet the stuff went out the back door (employee "shrinkage") rather than out the front door?

[44 AMP]

I looked at the link, and while I'm not disputing the numbers they just don't make sense to me.

Is that one Delaware store one of the places where employees are prohibited from preventing shoplifting??

"at least 500,000 rounds" missing, (over a 6 month period) ammo was displayed unsecured in the middle of the sales floor.....

OK, my calculator says, half a million rounds in 50rnd boxes is 10,000 boxes. If we assume 6 months is 180 business days (just for ease of computation) that means that one store "lost" an average of 55.5 boxes of ammo EVERY DAY.

Are they telling us over 50 boxes of ammo were stolen off the sales floor EVERY DAY for 6 months!!!
and Cabelas only moved the ammo behind the counter after they got a subpoena from the DOJ????

How is that even possible???

Even in Delaware??

[MTT TL]

I realized my money math was off this morning. I was ascribing a value of a dollar a round, which is probably not too far off.

Are they telling us over 500 boxes of ammo were stolen off the sales floor EVERY DAY for 6 months!!!
and Cabelas only moved the ammo behind the counter after they got a subpoena from the DOJ????

It seems completely nuts to me. Around here they used to sell (might still, haven't been there in years) 500 round cans of 9mm. It was really expensive, I think around $220 a can for Federal ball target ammo. That would be pretty tough to shoplift, sneaking it out. If a group ran in and grabbed a bunch of cans that would be doable. I still don't see how and wonder why nothing was done about the stock shrinkage.

[44 AMP]

Apologies for a math error. I misplaced the decimal point. Its over 50 boxes, not over 500.

still, 50 boxes of ammo is not a small amount.

And, if we're talking 20 rnd boxes of rifle ammo, the count and the physical bulk goes up.

[seanc]

How does their inventory system work? Don't most places auto-order based on sales? If that much is being stolen, how could they keep up? This had to have been employee theft of some form.

[veprdude]

Originally Posted by MTT TL

It's a non-solution, to a non-problem that restricts civil rights so yes, it's exactly how gun grabbers think.

Do you need a FOID to shoplift in your state?

[rickyrick]

That’s a considerable amount of ammunition, even spread out over time.

I do buy factory ammunition, if it’s in a box that could be opened, I always look inside because some people like to switch boxes with more expensive stuff.

[SamNavy]

A more realistic scenario is this...

9mm and .22lr in bulk. 500,000rds is 1,373/day over the 364 days a year Cabelas appears to be open (Closed only on XMAS Day).

That's a couple 500rd Golden Bullet boxes, one 200ct whitebox, and a couple of random boxes of whatever a day. It's certainly not $1/rd 300WM GMM... and at .05cents/rd for .22lr, probably more like $200/day worth of .22lr and 9mm.

And although my knowledge of redneck criminal acticity is limited, I agree with Aguila Blanca in saying this is almost certainly an inside job involving a couple of employees who figured out some way to trick or hide the losses in the inventory system. None of that ammo actually made it to the shelves and were instead misplaced or whatever during stocking.

I assume that inventory control would prioritize ammunition shrinkage, review tapes, and be on the lookout for potential actors and have the police fully involved in the process... anything less would be criminal on behalf of management in my opinion.

I also don't trust an MSN article to get anything right wrt facts or timeline. Next week we'll find out it was only 5000rds over the course of a month and the police were involved the whole time in a coordinated sting of the known actors.

[JohnKSa]

What do you want to bet the stuff went out the back door (employee "shrinkage") rather than out the front door?

That would also explain why the AG is interested in it.

[DaleA]

Perhaps THAT Cabela's (the one in Delaware) adheres to the Lululemon rules on shoplifting...'Want it??? Take it!!!'

Our Minnesota Cabela's apparently does do something about shoplifting in the firearms department.

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota...h-police-chase

However, the Twin Cities has become notoriously soft on juvenile offenders with one kid picked up and released more than once over a single weekend.

https://alphanews.org/weekend-mayhem...s-few-arrests/

A much more serious example of the Twin Cities 'catch and release' program is this one:

https://alphanews.org/catch-and-rele...a-crime-spree/

Minnesota's Attorney General, Keith Ellison, sided with the Mexican government when the Mexican government tried to sue American gun manufacturers for contributing to 'gun violence' in Mexico.

Ellison is trying to sue automakers Kia and Hyundai because of the auto theft problem in the Twin Cities.

Ellison is also suing Fleet Farm for firearm straw purchases.
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...st-fleet-farm/

I'm sure Ellison would LOVE to require all gun shops to store their ammunition behind the counter or in locked cabinets of some kind.

Ellison is also very concerned that Target stores do NOT prominently display 'Gay Pride' merchandise at the front of the store because of backlash.

Minnesota, rapidly on its way to becoming the Cold California of the midwest.

[MTT TL]

Do you need a FOID to shoplift in your state?

Should be mandatory in Illinois. I am not sure anyone buys anything there anymore.

I currently live in Alabama. They issue you a AR15, 30 round magazines and ammunition at the border and tell you so long as you stay out of Birmingham and don't mess with anyone's stuff you will live a long and prosperous life. While we are 4th in the nation in gun deaths per capita, if you take Birmingham out we drop to 42nd.

We typically get an F- or 0/100 for gun grabber report cards. The legislature sees it as a challenge. If they are getting points on anything they try to get rid of whatever that thing is.

The did add a new one this year, strangely. Up until this year they didn't report involuntary commits to NCIC. The truth is the mental health system is so bad in this state that if you get an involuntary commit you are likely publicly drooling on yourself while chronically bating while waving around a machete and even then, if they get machete away from you, they probably let you go.

[Eli Wagner]

Did you ever wonder why dumpsters have locking lids. Because the easiest way to shoplift is for the employee to bag and toss new items and later go back and get the bag.

[JohnKSa]

Looks like they may be making some progress in the case.

https://whyy.org/articles/cabelas-st...l-shoplifting/

They actually caught someone in the act of shoplifting some.

"Brookens said she’d been shoplifting at Cabela’s for more than a year, and had stolen large amounts of ammo more than 20 times, court records show. She also claimed that store employees and at least one supervisor knew her, but didn’t “typically confront” her about shoplifting, according to a court affidavit filed by state investigator Pat Malone."

"Brookens’s estimate of how many rounds of ammunition she had lifted herself: about 500,000."

The AG is claiming that Cabelas should have worked harder to prevent shoplifting and is accusing them of being uncooperative in the investigation.

[mehavey]

...didn’t “typically confront” her about shoplifting,

and maybe this is why...
https://progressivegrocer.com/kroger...lifters-action

Until retail concerns get serious about preventing/confronting/prosecuting shoplifters...
I have no sympathy....

...except we pay for it in price increases.

[MTT TL]

Brookens has since pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition by a prohibited person and was sentenced to a drug diversion program.

That will teach her. I am sure she has left that life of crime behind her forever.

[BarryLee]

As I mentioned earlier, they demonize the Firearms Industry for selling legal products to law abiding citizens while giving criminals who commit crimes with firearms a slap on the wrist.

[101combatvet]

Originally Posted by MTT TL

I think we have all seen videos of shoplifting run complete amuck and into the area of organized crime. 500K rounds over six months is quite a lot. That would be 10,000 50 round boxes. Since Cabelas is expensive this is likely around $5,000,000 at retail. Kind of surprised they did nothing to stop it.

Criminals obviously don't buy ammunition. I wonder if the next step will be for Delaware to start regulating the purchase of ammo.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...9a128a19&ei=21

There was theft; however, those numbers are an exaggeration. The office making an issue out of this wouldn't prosecute those criminals anyway.

Ammo is regulated.

[101combatvet]

Originally Posted by Aguila Blanca

Assuming an average price of around $1 per round, 500k rrounds would be worth $500,000, not $5,000,000. That would be $10 per round, which is pretty steep even for Cabelas.

What do you want to bet the stuff went out the back door (employee "shrinkage") rather than out the front door?

It didn't go out the back door.

[101combatvet]

Originally Posted by JohnKSa

That would also explain why the AG is interested in it.

Wrong! The Delaware government is largely unfriendly to firearms; there is your answer.

[101combatvet]

Originally Posted by Eli Wagner

Did you ever wonder why dumpsters have locking lids. Because the easiest way to shoplift is for the employee to bag and toss new items and later go back and get the bag.

Have you ever been to that store? Every square inch is under video surveillance.

[Tom Servo]

I mean, they could do what most gun stores do: put the ammo behind the counter.

I'm no big-city rocket scientist, but it seems like I'd start doing that after losing a small fraction of that.