Career High Dollar Grab!

I was in the office trying to figure out what to do with my time, since the week before was overwhlemed with paperwork and inspections and audits, etc. This week was looking like it would be mostly shoplifting stuff, and hopefully my shoplifting dry spell would change. It didn't take long to realize this would definitely be the case.

I glanced up at the cameras covering our Health and Beauty aisle, and in walks a black male pushing an empty cart. Halfway down the aisle he stops, reaches out across the shelf and sweeps the shelf with his arm, pulling all of the Prilosec into his cart. He reached back again and pulled out a box of a dozen or so packages nd dumped the contents, and placed the empty box back on the shelf. He glanced around only once before pushing the cart out of the aisle. I left the office and walked into the area in time to see him enter the toothpaste aisle. Once again, he reaches out into the shelf, and sweeps all of the Crest Whitening Strips into his cart, and moves on. So far, he hasn't done anything illegal, but I did think this was a most interesting method of shopping. I did like the idea a little since it only took a minute to fill half of the cart, and there is nothing more that I hate than wasting time shopping for things. I am an in and out kind of guy, and apparently, so was this gentleman.

I followed the guy out of the department as he grabbed two boxes of ALLI on his way by. He didn't act nervous, just hurried. He never stopped long enough to see if anyone was watching. He turned into our Pantry aisle and it was there he removed a large white plastic bag from his pocket, and filled it with the items from the cart. He seemed oblivious to anyone nearby, he was just on a mission.

I watched from the end of the aisle as he finished, then grabbed an energy drink from the shelf, and tossed that in the bag as well. He was walking right toward me at the front of the store, and I quickly grabbed a movie off a nearby display and pretended to be searching for a good viewing choice for the evening. He pushed the cart by me, and turned into a closed register line. I looked up from the movies just as he looked back and made eye contact with me. This was enough for him to change his mind, and he pulled the cart back out of the line and headed back toward the pantry.

In an effort to avoid being seen by him again, I walked to the front desk and informed the associate there what I thought was happening. He left the desk and began his surveillance of the man walking through pantry. I waited near the desk so I was in a position to see him go for the front door, but time passed with no sign of him or the associate.

I left the front desk and walke across the front of the store hiding behind the registers, trying to see wheere either of the two were. Just them the alarm at the front desk started beeping, usually alerting us to an open door somewhere in the store. I came out of hiding and looked back at the desk to hear where the alarm was coming from.

"Door Alarm Garden Center, Door Alarm Garden Center" a voice came acoss the PA system. I immediately turned and ran from the registers to the side wall and sprinted to the rear of the store. It didn't take a fraction of a second to realize what this guy just did. I cut through a stockroom and popped outside through a fire exit adjacent to the Garden Center where I was met by the Front Desk Associate coming out the Graden Center door.

"He just ran across the back of the building!" he yelled to me.

"Was it the same guy we were watching?" I wanted to make sure I knew who we were looking for.

He nodded his head and ran toward the rear of the building as I pulled my cell phone out and ran toward the front in case he was coming back around to his car. As I ran across the front sidewalk, I dialled 911. We were already outside th store, and I knew we would need some help catching this character. Between heavy breaths, I was able to provide a description of the guy and direction he was seen running. Just as I made the lap to the opposite side of the building I saw him making his way up a muddy hill to the parking lot behind our store. I continued running and again met up with the associate following him. We continued this halfassed pursuit into the shopping center lot behind our store. I didn't really want to catch up to him, but I did want to keep an eye on him so the Police Department could catch up to him.

Just as I crested the muddy hill and emerged between the trees into the next lot, two police cars screamed past me with the lights flashing. I hung up on the dispatcher and pointed toward the parking garage I saw him run into... still carrying his large white bag stuffed with my merchandise.

I stopped for a moment as the cars assembled in the lot. I figured five police cars could move alot faster than me running, so I stopped and waited right where I was. Sure enough, one of the police cars that flew past me returned to pick me up. They had successfully stopped the guy before he made it to the next store, and had him cuffed on the asphalt. As we approached the crowd, the officer in my car asked...

"Do you recognize anyone here?"

I almost laughed. There were five uniformed police officers, and a black guy wearing a black hoodie leaning over the hood of a police car, with his hands cuffed behind his back. Are you kidding? Hard choice! I positively identified the man as the guy I saw filling the bag with Prilosec. The man was hauled away to the police station as I was asked to go through the bag and determine if it was all merchandise from my store. Of course it was.

I took possession of the bag of goods, and got a ride back to the store. I walked in with the bag over my shoulder like Santa Claus arriving with a sack filled with gifts. I poured the bag out at the front desk and had the associate scan all of the items. My smile grew larger and wider as the count went on and on.

Finally, the grand total of stolen, but recovered, merchandise came to $975.00. Until then, my highest amount recovered was approximately $600.00.

This little visit to the neighboring parking lots certainly turned out to be well worth the trouble, and exercise.

I compared my video of the incident with photos from a similar incident at a neighboring store. Unfortunately, he took the same amount there, same merchandise there, just didn't get caught there.

I was later advised by the arresting officer that this man, 45 years old, was from New York, and couldn't make bail. He would be spending the week in the County Prison, until we will meet again for the Preliminary Hearing where I get to brag about catching him on the witness stand.

Dry spell ended.