In the 25-second clip dated from March 24 at 7:26 a.m., a man wearing a cowboy hat and a hoodie reading "Players only love you when they're playing" is seen grabbing a man trying to leave Key Food on Avenue A and Fourth Street without (presumably) paying for several 6-packs of White Claw.
The cowboy grabs the would-be thief and slams him against the exit wall... the man drops the White Claw in the process... and the cowboy chases him away ... and the cowboy impressively never loses his hat in the process...
Key sources tell us that the man regularly (and allegedly) shoplifts White Claw and other items and is well-known to employees. (Earlier this year EVG contributor Stacie Joy witnessed a man walk out of the store with the hard seltzer ... and employees didn't attempt to stop him. It's not clear if the person in the video is the same person Stacie saw.)
There was speculation about the identity of the White Claw Vigilante. Web sleuths are curious about who uploaded the video to Reddit — and why. To send a message to any future Key Food shoplifters? A Reddit user named "scottonaharley" is listed as the uploader.
A Key source said the video surveillance system is in a manager's office, which is locked downstairs; few people have access to this space.
We're told the man in the hat is Scott Schubert, who has a management role within the Key Food family. He happened to be at the supermarket on this day. Schubert saw the White Claw thief shoving longtime employee Utpola as he headed for the exit.
Stacie reached out to Schubert as well as Ben Mandel at Key Food parent company MAN-Dell Food Stores, Inc. for comment.
8 comments:
Good. They should change the laws so that people who stop shoplifters can't be held liable. The cops can't be everywhere and obviously aren't enforcing as much they should be. This crap has to stop somehow if we want stores to survive, prices to not shoot up more, and/or stuff not all to be locked up.
That is some rootin-tootin sleuthin' Grieve !
Great investigation into this video !
"They should change the laws so that people who stop shoplifters can't be held liable."
Google "shopkeeper's privilege," please. Of course they have to have a reasonable belief that the person is a shoplifter, instead of randomly grabbing up kids of color.
Well done but video needs Aaron Copland soundtrack
Maybe I’m just old, but I remember when bars had “off the books, off the record” bouncers working at the door.
If the shit hit the fan, and someone got hurt, the guy was just someone who wandered in, wasn’t working here…
Let's hear it for The Man in the Hat! We need more of them and let's add some "off the books, off the record" types. The police have to walk on eggs dealing with shoplifters lest they be accused of misconduct or assault.
Rampant shoplifting causes price increases and store closings. CVS reported a 300% increase in shoplifting in 2021. A Rite Aid in Murray Hill near the men's shelter on 30th Street had $200,000 worth of product stolen and had to close.
Thunder only happens when it’s raining….
Good for the cowboy. I'm sick of shoplifters harassing store workers and getting away with this crap. It really sucks to work in any retail establishment right now.
Post a Comment