Retailers across the country have been increasingly targeted by brazen and often violent thieves in recent years as many major cities have reduced the statutory penalty for related crimes.
While there have been numerous stories about employees and even security personnel who have simply stood by and watched businesses be looted by these lawless mobs, one mall worker in Santa Ana, California, opted to fight back.
Authorities say two men entered a shop in the MainPlace mall and attempted to steal several boxes of Pokemon trading cards valued at a total of about $2,700.
When the employee noticed what was happening, surveillance footage shows that he pursued them as they ran out of the store. Once outside, an altercation ensued and the employee was able to gain the upper hand on both suspects.
The individuals left the stolen merchandise behind but were able to break free and escape before a security guard arrived on the scene moments later.
As Santa Ana Police Sgt. Maria Lopez explained: “We don’t believe the confrontation happened inside the store. The confrontation happened outside once the employee saw them run from the store.”
She said authorities were still searching for the two suspects. The first was described as a thin Hispanic male, about 5 feet 6 inches tall, who was wearing a green long-sleeve shirt, black shorts, white socks, and red and black shoes. The other is a White male with black hair and brown eyes wearing a gray sweater and black shorts.
While the individual who prevented a theft in this case is being widely heralded for his quick action, some retail employees have faced negative consequences including job termination for similarly stepping up to stop a crime in progress.
Criminals have quickly learned there are no consequences for their behavior—and property crimes are NOT going to stop until that changes.
Watch @LELDF_President on @NTDNews: pic.twitter.com/mz8IBpayk9
— Law Enforcement Legal Defense (@LELDF) July 21, 2023
When masked thieves ransacked a Lululemon store in Georgia, two staff members intervened in an attempt to thwart the perpetrators.
Instead of being rewarded for their instinctive bravery, they lost their jobs and earned a public denunciation from the company’s CEO.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy that we train our educators on around engaging during a theft,” Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald bragged during a subsequent interview, adding that the employees involved in this incident “knowingly broke the policy, engaged with the thieves” and were fired as a result.
