SAN FRANCISCO—On Monday, March 3, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office indicated in a news release that Marcos Smith-Pequeno, 28, of Pittsburg, was charged in connection to multiple organized retail theft incidents at a Walgreens in Noe Valley. Smith-Pequeno was arraigned on February 28, 2025, and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He is charged with one count of organized retail grand theft with intent to sell on two or more separate occasions (PC 490.4(a)(1), two counts of second-degree commercial burglary (PC 459), two counts of grand theft (PC 487(a)), two counts of petty theft with two or more priors (PC 666.1(a)(1)/488), one count of vandalism (PC 594(b)(1)), and one count of resisting (PC 148(a)(1)).
According to court records, on February 24, Smith-Pequeno and six other suspects allegedly entered Walgreen’s at 1333 Castro Street and stole over $4,000 worth of merchandise. One of the suspects allegedly hit a Walgreen’s employee with an umbrella while the employee was calling 911.
The following day, on February 25, Smith-Pequeno allegedly returned to the same Walgreens at 1333 Castro Street with three other suspects and stole over $12,000 in merchandise. Allegedly, the group also broke display cases and shelves, causing approximately $1,000 in damage and threw items at employees and customers.
A witness notified police that they saw that the defendant and a juvenile suspect as they allegedly fled Walgreens with bags of merchandise. Allegedly, Smith-Pequeno and the juvenile tried to change their clothes on the street as they discarded clothing and stolen merchandise. Allegedly, he tripped and fell as he ran from officers who ordered him not to run and was subsequently taken into custody.
His next court date is March 13, for the preliminary hearing in this matter. The court denied the District Attorney’s Office’s motion to detain Smith-Pequeno pending trial and released him on his own recognizance and ordered that he contact assertive case management once per week by phone and stay away from Walgreens at 1333 Castro Street.
The case is still under investigation. Anyone with details on the incidents can contact the San Francisco Police Department Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
