for The New York Times: He Was One of New York’s Busiest Shoplifters. His Mother Was a Cop.”, The New York Times by José A. Alvarado Jr.

News

for The New York Times: He Was One of New York’s Busiest Shoplifters. His Mother Was a Cop.”, The New York Times

josé a. alvarado jr.

Jan 6, 2025

Summary

Drug addiction fueled David Andino’s need to steal. Every day, he hit the same Target in Manhattan. His mother, a retired police officer, hadn’t seen him in years.

The shoplifter knew the geography of the big gleaming Target store in TriBeCa as well as he knew his dingy little $20-a-week room uptown.

He popped through the sliding front door, where a security guard stood posted. No sense trying to sneak in — the guards all knew him on sight. In his head, a timer was ticking, like a shot clock. Ninety seconds. That was how long it would take for the police to respond to the 911 call the security guard would be making right now.

He hurried past the guard to get to the pharmacy area downstairs. The nearest route down was the escalator going up.

The shoplifter, David Andino, clambered down that escalator, hurtling past shoppers heading up.

Andino scooped what he could into a laundry bag, seeking out the brands he knew he could easily sell. Aveeno lotion, Cetaphil cleanser, CeraVe moisturizer. Sensodyne toothpaste, Crest White Strips.Ninety seconds.

He raced back up the escalator, past the guard, and back onto Greenwich Street and into the nearby Chambers Street subway station.

He boarded an uptown train, and the doors closed behind him. Success. Tomorrow, he would be back again.It was 2022. Day after day, he stole from that Target store. The police arrived, too late. As he stole more and more, day after day, Andino became a one-man crime wave in the Police Department’s First Precinct in Lower Manhattan.

Photographed for The New York Times, with words by Michael Wilson.

He Was One of New York’s Busiest Shoplifters. His Mother Was a Cop.
Drug addiction fueled David Andino’s need to steal. Every day, he hit the same Target in Manhattan. His mother, a retired police officer, hadn’t seen him in years.
Nytimes.com

417

José A. Alvarado Jr.

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