California serial thief is found guilty of stealing more than $60,000 in Target goods by using self-checkout

A serial thief from San Francisco has been found guilty of stealing more than $60,000 in merchandise at the self-checkout after hitting a Target store 120 times.

Aziza Graves, 43, was convicted of felony and grand theft and 53 misdemeanor counts of petty theft on Friday after she stole over a 13-month period  - starting October 3, 2020 and ending November 16, 2021 - from the Target store in the Stonestown Galleria, a shopping mall located North of San Francisco State University.

Graves' trickery involved bringing goods to the self-checkout counter, scanning them and then inserting 'a single coin or bill' into the machine before exiting the store, the District Attorney's office said. 

Officers with the San Francisco Police Department said they watched Graves leave the Target store twice after carrying out her scheme. She was later seen selling the stolen goods at the city's UN Plaza, KDVR News reported.

After her November 2021 arrest, San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott called her a 'particularly brazen and prolific retail theft offender.'

Graves is currently not in custody - due to the former DA Chesa Boudin, whose approach to crime was not to prosecute lower-level offenses. Critics had worked getting the 'woke' official out of office and secured a recall election on June 7 and won. 

Graves is scheduled to be sentenced later this month. She potentially faces three and a half years in prison, a partial or full sentence in custody, or mental health rehabilitation.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said: 'individuals such as Aziza Graves commit egregious thefts through brazen and repeated conduct that greatly impacts retailers' ability to operate and serve the general public in their area.'

'These crimes demand accountability and we need to send the message to others who engage in open and brash thefts, with the support of our local law enforcement partners, our office will continue to pursue and prosecute those involved.'

Last week, ABC7 News shared video that included evidence from the court file.

In the video, Graves is seen pushing a shopping cart in the aisle of the Target filling up her cart with dozens of containers of washing machine detergent. 

Investigators told the news outlet that Graves would often steal jugs of detergent and resell those items at the illegal market at the city's UN Plaza.

Two months ago, she told ABC7 News Bay Area, 'I don't think I should be on trial for anything right now.'

According to a court filing, a jury found Graves guilty in 53 counts connected to more than a year of the shoplifting scam at Target, and a theft at the Ambercombie & Fitch store, as per the news outlet.

During her November 2021 arrest, she was originally charged with eight felony counts of grand theft and 120 misdemeanor counts of petty theft, as per KRON News. 

She was convicted of one felony count of grand theft and 53 misdemeanor counts of petty theft.

Before she hit the Target store, the repeat offender had gone to a Safeway but had gotten kicked out, as per the news outlet. 

The video jurors viewed helped the come to their guilty verdict.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins told the news outlet.  'People should take the message that San Franciscans are going to make sure that there's accountability in our city again for this type of crime,' she said.

'No longer, do they view is as low level crime that doesn't matter when we provide adequate evidence to them that they will convict.'