So this regular that always comes to the Fuel Center got busted for shop lifting. I was on break when I was heading back inside to clock in and a member of management came out and pointed to her and said: "You're going to have to come back inside. We caught you. Why do it if there's cameras everywhere?" So they head upstairs and I asked my coworker what happened.
Basically she tried to pull a fast one and go into the bathroom and put the items into her purse. The only reason she was caught stealing was because my coworker followed her into the bathroom and witnessed her put the items in her purse. She tried to say she fell and dropped the items on the bathroom floor, but when they had her come back inside she did indeed have the items in her purse.
So I go back to the FC from break and I see her walking across the parking lot flipping off the store and cussing loudly. She then lights a cigarette and walks away.
I don't see why they just didn't have the cops come and arrest her. I mean she left the damn store with unpaid merchandise. But I'm pretty sure all she got was banned from the store. -_- I hate thieves.
Often times it's easier and less work on their part to simply let the person go if the theft is under a certain amount, and instead Trespass them. If they press charges, then they have to fill out police reports and potentially go to court if the person doesn't plead guilty and testify. That's a lot of work for only $100 or so. So usually LP will simply take them into the back room, confiscate what they stole, trespass them, and tell them if they come back, then they'll be arrested.
The funny part? Nobody actually has to follow LP or the store managers anywhere. They can walk out the doors and give them the finger because technically, they don't have authority to stop someone and physically detain them. They're risking lawsuits if they do. They just know most people don't know any better and will voluntarily come with them. However, if a customer decides to say "no" and simply keep walking, at least in my state, there isn't much they can do without a licensed security guard of sorts that actually has the ability to detain people.
We once had a woman come up to the register that no one was at and start bagging her order. When we told her that no one was at that register she said "i know" and the manager was called... she started talking about how she was "a majority shareholder" in the Kroger Company to him and was allowed to do this as it was "her money" keeping "you" afloat.
She finished bagging the groceries, walked out the door, left her groceries on the porch and the manager just brought the cart back inside. She drove off.
Idiots, man.
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Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
Well, I just found out today they filed criminal mischief charges on her since she opened the items. But according to my coworker who caught her, she didn't take them out of the store. What actually happened was that she ran into the bathroom to try and shove them in her purse. She put the things in her purse, but when she came out my coworker pointed her out to the manager so she ran back into the bathrooms. She then threw the items behind the toilet and when my coworker walked into the bathroom the woman was rubbing her head and saying she fell and hit her head (She was trying to scare the store into thinking she would sue).
So they filed the charges and she has to go to court in a couple of months and she is not allowed back at the store for a year or so.
