Two are charged in Union Square ‘ram-raid’ robbery

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced charges Tuesday against two people allegedly involved in the robbery of handbags and other merchandise at Dior in Union Square last week.

Ahjanae Woods, 23, and Terry Nichols, 28, were charged with commercial burglary, grand theft, organized retail theft, conspiracy and resisting arrest for their alleged role in the ransacking of the luxury retailer, prosecutors said. They pleaded not guilty.

Police officers responding to reports of a burglary in progress at the Dior store, at the intersection of Grant Avenue and Post Street, on Thursday discovered that thieves had driven a car into the store’s facade, shattering the front doors and glass cabinets containing merchandise.

The tactic, known as “ram raiding,” is on the rise in the Bay Area as perpetrators increasingly use cars to slam into businesses and flee with stolen goods.

“The early morning smash-and-grab at Christian Dior is one more example of how brazen some thieves have become,” Jenkins said.

Three vehicles stopped in front of the Union Square retailer and one car crashed into it, police said. People emerged from all three vehicles, entered the store and stole merchandise before fleeing.

Woods and Nichols are accused of participating in the smash and grab, though it was unclear whether they were drivers or passengers. Prosecutors say the pair acted with several other uncharged co-conspirators.

The thieves first tried to break into Fendi at 195 Grant Ave. but were unsuccessful, prosecutors said. They then smashed into the Dior store to steal “numerous handbags and other merchandise,” according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Woods and Nichols were being held in the San Francisco County jail without bail, according to jail records.