A man who appeared homeless reportedly tried to steal packs of cigarettes and more from a 7-Eleven store in Stockton, California, however, employees quickly decided to take matters into their own hands.
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According to Fox 11, a video released online on Wednesday showed a man with a blue covering on his head, wearing a white t-shirt, and pulling a garbage can along with him.
As he jumped behind the counter, the man was seen throwing cartons of cigarettes, other nicotine products, and more store items into the bin.
“Just let him go,” said a person holding the phone camera. “Ain’t nothing you can do until you call police,” he added.
When the man tried to move the trash can forward, he warned another person to be cautious. However, one of the 7-Eleven employees, wearing dark-colored clothing, unexpectedly jumped into action in order to stop him from leaving the store.
A second worker, wearing a gray shirt, approached the group with a large stick just moments later. The video then shows the employee beating the man holding the trash can filled with stolen goods.
The thief later dropped the can and fell to the ground as the man in the dark-colored shirt held him down.
“Okay! Okay, brother! Okay!” the man on the floor shrieked.
Gotta love it.
Unfortunately the mentality that you can’t do anything to someone stealing your livelihood is burned into our brains. I’ll bet this happened in a Democrat area & the 7-11 employees are getting charged. pic.twitter.com/C2J0hhbHTr
Video footage showed the man being beaten, with the person behind the camera yelling, “Whooping his a**, huh? Whooping your a**…whooping his a**! “Go get him!”
In another video recorded of the incident, the man in the white t-shirt is seen lying on the ground. When asked if he has a gun, he replied that he does not have any weapons.
However, in a separate shot of the video footage some online users have argued that you can clearly see the man had a knife and was ready to use it.
He later stood up as the person behind the camera assisted him and warned him, “Don’t come back here no more, okay? Don’t do that, okay?” She later tells the thief to, “Get the f*ck out.”
It is currently unknown whether the homeless man or the 7-Eleven employees in the video will face any criminal charges.
The California State Senate reportedly passed a measure in June that prohibited businesses from compelling their employees to assist during a shoplifting incident, an issue that has grown in the state as a result of criminal justice reforms.
Store owners are outraged by the Senate’s decision, claiming that it sends the wrong message to potential criminals that they may steal anytime they want without any repercussions.
Photo via Twitter @realchasecurtis
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