New store puts a lockdown on stolen shopping carts

BARSTOW — The new 99 Cents Only store on East Main Street became the first store in Barstow to implement a preventative measure to the perennial problem of shopping cart theft.

The carts migrate from the parking lots of stores throughout town, wind up in front yards, on sidewalks and sometimes roll into the middle of the street, creating an obstacle course for oncoming cars.

At the 99 Cents Only Store that opened in April, each shopping cart is fitted with an electronic system that causes one wheel to lock up when someone attempts to push the cart out of the parking lot. A cable that runs around the perimeter of the lot senses when a cart is approaching and activates the locking mechanism, which can only be unlocked by a remote control carried by store staff.

“It’s going to be hard to drag a whole cart full of merchandise with one wheel locked up,” said assistant store manager Armando Cervantes.

The company is installing the anti-theft mechanism at most of its new stores, he said.

People do still occasionally try to remove the carts, Cervantes said, but it’s nothing like the older store branch he worked at in Victorville, which did not have the theft control system in place. There, five to 10 carts a day would disappear from the parking lot. Most turned up at the other end of the shopping center, requiring employees to make a trek to retrieve them at the end of the day.

In the three days the Barstow store was open before the theft prevention system became operational, people made off with 20 to 25 carts, he said. Most were recovered, but a handful remain unaccounted for, Cervantes said. He was unsure of the exact price of a cart. Web sites advertising retail shopping carts for sale listed prices ranging from $85 to $175.

Edward Dawson, who keeps an eye on the 99 Cents Only parking lot in Barstow, said he sees six or seven people a day who try to get the carts off of the lot. Most of them are people without cars who live in the motels or apartment complexes nearby, he said, while some are homeless.
Other major retail stores in town said they have not implemented the theft-prevention technology. They reported varying levels of cart theft.

“It’s not a major problem, but it is a problem,” said Vons customer service representative Robert Durbin. He estimated that 10 or 15 stray carts are returned to the store each week.

Paul Violetter, Burrtec’s customer service manager at Burrtec Waste Industries, which picks up stray carts in the city and returns them to their owners, said the number of carts picked up around town varies from month to month. In June, Burrtec picked up 29 carts, compared to 107 in May.

Unlawful removal of a shopping cart is a misdemeanor in California.

To have an abandoned shopping cart removed, call Burrtec at 760-256-2730.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or abby_sewell@link.freedom.com