Why we run? Cuz I'm in my nose. Oh, this I'm with somebody and they had me. Stop. Stop. Hey, police. Stop. [Applause] Stop. Sorry. I'm just going to leave. I'm sorry. [Music] [Applause] Shoplifterss often think they're invisible or smarter than store employees, but many of them fail to realize just how closely they're being watched by security and how quickly cops can catch them. Here are a few cases when cops surprise shoplifterss in the act. Come here, sir. Cover me. Where? I ain't got nothing. Come. In February 2024, officers responded to a shoplifting in progress at Kohl's. Apparently, a woman attempted to shoplift by putting items in her clothes while inside the changing room. Sadly for her, though, she wasn't sneaky enough. A loss prevention associate meets the first responder. I'll never see you DW. Now, she it's been recent. I was going to fill out police. I got all the evidence. just haven't had time to put in a police report. If you come in the store, we're going to be in the center by these bedrooms. You'll Yeah, you come down if you I know what I'm looking for. The suspect is still inside the changing room and the cops are preparing an ambush. Notably, the store's almost completely vacant. Maybe it's not such a smart idea to try shoplifting when there's no crowd to cover you. But the suspect didn't think about this, and she's about to receive a nasty surprise. Come here, sir. Go ahead and cover me. Where? I ain't got it. This coming. Got one running. Get out of car. Now that was quick and clean. It seems all that extra load on her body made the suspect a bit slower than she hoped to be. But there must be a good reason why she committed theft. And she's more than happy to offer an explanation. Now, that was about the dumbest thing you could have done. Why we run? Cuz I'm in my my nose. All this. I'm with somebody and they had me stealing. For socks. Going to jail for socks. Let's get her inside. They got a loss prevention area. We'll search her. There was one lousy explanation. And the suspect obviously didn't put too much effort into it. The cops take her back inside to the loss prevention office and then get ready to search her for stolen items. Yeah, I see it. All right. Hey, look at me. You're a female. I'm going to search you. I'm going to walk through what I'm doing as I'm doing it. Okay. Okay. How much stuff do you have on you? I do have some that's in my pants. Okay. Do me a favor. Face towards the camera or face away from me. All right. I'm going to pull the back of this away. Is it underneath here as well? Yeah. Okay. Fraser won't give me five minutes. Oh, he's where we're cut for. Go ahead and send me his case number. Hey, she's got a buddy that was here with her last time. He's at the registry right now. I'll try to check out. Is he attempting the shoplift? No, not this time. But we don't expose. The officer finishes searching the suspect and begins to explain the charges she'll be dealing with. But the suspect has an interesting point to bring up about her age, though her math skills might be a bit off. All right, here's what I'm going to tell you. Look at me. Because you ran, you have an extra charge. Okay, you are going to go to Perry. Okay, concealing stuff on you when you get inside of Perry is an extra charge. Did I miss anything? No, sir. Okay. Press. Not me being a minor. I got You're a minor. How old are you? My How old are you? Hold on. You said you're 20. You're not a minor. Minor people under the age of 18. Okay. Her math teacher would definitely be disappointed. The suspect was charged with felony theft by shoplifting and misdemeanor obstruction. Her sentence was 2 years in jail and 10 months of probation. Maybe she can try adding those years up. It's safe to say, though, she won't be shoplifting again anytime soon. Shoplifterss don't always go for items like mobile phones or clothing. Some of them have other interests like collectible cards. In April 2024, Florida officers were called to a local shop because of an active shoplifter. This guy came in three or four times a day to steal sports and Pokémon cards. The cops arrived on scene and were given a full rundown by an employee. Actually, July 23rd. July 23rd. Okay. Okay, now he doesn't put his hat back on. So, see, he's got a thing in his hand. Freaking He does this the whole time. Okay. Where's he at now? He's in that This one right there. Where's it at? You'd imagine a shoplifter would be smarter than this. I mean, come on. Going into the same store three or four times a day, you'd imagine a thief would have smarter tactics. Going into the same store multiple times is just plain dumb. But if this guy was putting any thought into this, he'd probably stay away from crime altogether. The officer moves to apprehend the suspect who's currently browsing over his next loot. [Music] How you doing? I'm good. Set the cards down. Huh? Put the carts down. Why? cuz I'm asking you to Okay, turn around. Put your hands behind your back. What did I do? What? I haven't done anything yet. Is that the statement? We're not done anything yet. Well, I haven't left the store. No, but you did back in July with all this same stuff in the same in the same area, buddy. I haven't been here. You're on camera, brother. I just watched it just to make sure before I came over here and bugged you. And you're over here going through the same stuff in a locked case. No, that box was sitting right there. We'll watch the camera in a minute. Walk out with me. I'll grab your phone. Dude, I've never been in this store. I live in Citrus County. Okay. And it's a really upset thing that you drove all the way here from Citrus County to get arrested today. I haven't done anything yet. Very poor choice of words. It's a sad situation the suspect's found himself in, but nevertheless, he maintains his facade of bewilderment and innocence in front of the officer, even though his pockets do look a bit heavy. How in the world can I get arrested for stealing when I never left the building with anything? And it's wonderful. They even got your tag from back then, too, bro. Okay. But what does that have? You've never been to this store before, but they've got your tag in the parking lot and that you on camera. Anything in your pocket is going to poke me, hurt me, cut me, stab me. No. Face my car. Assuming a bunch of baseball cards. Yeah, that's baseball cards. Assume probably a bunch more baseball cards. Yeah, a bunch more baseball cards. Cool. I really enjoyed that. What's down here, man? Bunch more cards. All this stuff didn't come from here. And I didn't leave the store with this. This forced me out the door. No, man. I didn't steal this. It's all concealed in your pockets. It doesn't matter. I sure does. That's how it works. I did not steal it. That's how it works. How can I be charged with that when I did not steal it? The suspect believes he's being arrested just for this instance when he tried to steal. That's probably why he thought he could argue that he didn't go past the point of sale. And although he can probably see where this is going, the suspect doesn't want to change his tune just yet. He suddenly remembers that he could buy the cards. I have money to buy what I was going to buy. I hadn't left the area of where I was at. I do. Not only do I have the right person in this instance, I have the right person in a previous instance where you were also viewed on camera. And as soon as my buddy gets here, I'm going to go in there and I'm going to pull up the video. Tell me you viewed me on camera. I'm going to go pull up the video because there's a camera pointing right at what you're doing, buddy. And there was a camera pointing right at what you were doing. Why? And you're telling me there's nobody looks like me, that you can see who I am. So the cameras the cameras go inside the building. They come outside the building. So I can watch you get out of the car. I can watch you walk inside. I can watch you unlock stuff with a long metal something or another in your hand. Take the baseball cards. And then I can watch you walk out of the building, get back in the car that they gave me the tag to before I got here, and then leave without paying for them. So do you want to continue to lie to me? This won't work out as well as he hopes. For now, an officer takes inventory of the stolen items, and there's a whole lot of them spread out on the hood of the police cruiser. If the cards turn out to be expensive, the suspect's going to be in a whole lot of trouble. So, they got him on camera just pulling handfuls of baseball cards out, stuffing them in his pocket. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. So, today he was coming up here to do the same thing, cuz he's on camera doing it in July. Cool. He's going to go to jail for retail, though. Probably times two. He's right there in the back. I'll keep the car unlocked. Let me go inside and uh go back to all of you a little bit. You want to sit down? I throw you. Is he compliant? He tried to pull away from me when I walked him out of the door, so I'm not walking outside. Unfortunately for the suspect, you can't just unseal the items by buying them after being called. However, he doesn't seem to understand this logic and further attempts to explain how the law works to a police officer. Boy, is that ironic. Since I video, I know that treasure. In order to steal, you have to conceal items and leave the premises. I didn't do that. He came in, handcuffed me, and brought me out here. That's not theft. Okay? Whatever he said I did months ago, that wasn't me. Okay? He doesn't have me on camera right now. You're detained. You're not under arrest, man. He's already said I'm under arrest and I did all this, that, and the other. Right now, you're detained. He hasn't said you're under arrest. I'm stuck here with these entire detained, correct? As little as I am, and I'm freaking out. Well, don't freak out. Listen, my I've been taking care of my grandparents since started. My grandfather died in December. My granny is up there all by herself. Did he read you your rights at all? No. All right, so just chill. If the suspect's so worried about his sick old granny, he probably shouldn't have shoplifted, but he's pretty much securely detained for now. Meanwhile, the other officer at the scene talks to an employee who has an amusing story to share about the suspect. He basically told me, I said, "We have you on camera." I'll show you to see if you recognize him. We have you on camera switching tags on a jersey. And he stood right here when I showed him this picture. And he's like, "You have cameras here." And I was like, "Yeah." He's like, "My bad." That's what he said to me. I'm going to go put that back. You sure? Wearing the same clothes when coming back to shoplift definitely wasn't the best idea. A cop reads him his Miranda rights and reveals an interesting fact about the suspect's clothing choices. It's truly a virtue to have a sense of fashion. So, what about the video? And the video shows you the video shows you entirely coming in on 723 2021 concealing. It's the exact same shorts. It's the exact same hat, the exact same mask and they described you as the person they saw coming in cuz you've been coming in here for 2 years and they identified you as a person who came in that day, right? Bought stuff. They've got still shots of you entering the business in the same hat, wearing the same mask. They've got still shots of you. You're telling me I'm the only person in Florida with a You're probably not the only person in Florida with that. You're probably the only person in Florida that they can pick out of a crowd and say, "That's the person who comes here for the last 2 years, even though you told me you've never been here before." And they can also say, "I wasn't sure because you were here over a year." Having stolen around $1,500 worth of cards, the suspect was charged with grand theft, but refused to return the stolen items. The case is still pending, but he's still claiming they caught the wrong person. Maybe, just maybe, it was his evil twin shoplifting brother. Sometimes shoplifterss come in pairs. In May of 2023, officers responded to a disturbance at Farm and Fleet in on Alaska, Wisconsin. A couple had threatened to punch the store's employees. Upon arrival, the officer spotted the male identified as Dakota walking away from the store. Yeah, there's an issue. What's that? Stand in front of my car. What is the issue? You threatened two employees. Stop. Get back here. Get Take your hand out of your pocket. Hands on the car. What am I doing? Hands on the car. You're detained. For what? Hands on the car. Do you have any weapons on you? Yeah. You're reaching your pocket. You got brass knuckles. You're threatening to hit people. You got a grinder in there. Yeah. And you got a switchblade on you. Hey, I told you I had Where's the girl you were with? Why? She didn't do anything. She's still with you. So, I'm going to leave her alone. You got anything else on you? just watch and let me know when she comes out. I'm going to relax, okay? But you're going to talk to me. What's going on today? They were following me around in the store and I asked him to please stop and they wouldn't. And so and then he started making comments and that's when I frequent was like, "Dude, if you keep following me around, I feel threatened." I literally said that I got a video recording of him being a smart and I told him I said, "I'll just start pressing harder." Dakota's story so far could hypothetically make sense. But here's where things go wrong. You see, Dakota decided that his next course of action after threatening to press charges should be a bit more up close and personal. I'll go open up the case. Like, and I told him I told him I said, "Quit following me, cuz he's like literally like closer than me and you are right now." And I that's what I told him. I said, "Dude, if you don't get out on the face, I'm going to knuckle dust you." Okay. And I I admit to that. So, you were upset because you felt like they were following you because of the way you looked and Yes. Okay. They were profiling you. Hell, this is the second time. and he's done nothing. I've never seen I know that makes sense to me. I I apologize. I have a hard time with the stories because I I was raised on streets. Okay. So, I apologize. See, I've never met you before, right? Okay. So, we're cool, right? But I still need to get your side of the story, boss. I mean, there's a reason that you threatened to punch someone, right? Yeah. Like, and I know it wasn't right. And that's why I started to walk out because he kept on me. And that's when I when I feel caged and trapped, I I tend to lash out. Can you see why I take the Yeah. the means that I do when you start walking away, you put your hand in your pocket, you end up having brass knuckles, a switchblade. Even if everything Dakota said was true, that's no reason to threaten to punch someone, especially with a knuckle duster. While one officer continues questioning Dakota, another goes inside to find the female identified as Cara. But when she spots the cop, she tries to make a run for it. Hey, ma'am. How are you? Hey, stop. Stop. She's running. GET YOUR HANDS OFF. Drop it. Drop it. OH GOD. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. STOP. STOP. I stopped. I stopped. PLEASE STOP. STOP MOVING. STOP. I STOP. STOP. PLEASE STOP. RESISTANCE. GOD. STOP. PLEASE. PLEASE. NO. CARA, ARE YOU GOOD TO SIT? Are you injured at all? No. Are you Can you bend your legs so we can sit you up? I didn't hear what you said. Why'd you run? Can I sit you up in this chair? If you're trying to get away from someone, running with two full pegs isn't the best idea. But after seeing the cop's uniform, she probably wasn't thinking too much. The officers questioned Cara, trying to figure out if she was stealing from the store. Are you trying to steal this stuff? If I'm honest, can I please just open? Please, there's nothing in there. I'm just just making sure there's nothing in there. Are you allowed to scan stuff right here? Can you figure out how much this stuff is? Can I have a cup of water, please? Can I have my ice water, please? Just stop. Okay. What do you mean when you say he told me to do it? Did Dakota tell you to steal the stuff? Okay. Is that what you guys came here to do today? Was to steal a bunch of merchandise? You on probation, bond? Anything like that right now? Not on probation. What were you guys stealing the stuff for? Typically, for drugs. Cash. So when they called you out on it for stealing stuff, they were right. And then Dakota threatened to punch him. Who's the employee? Can we have the employee come back here that was threatened? After detaining the woman and questioning her, the cops have the employees work out the total price of the stolen merchandise. Adding everything up, their calculations resulted in a total of $990 before tax. The officers then question the employees that Dakota threatened while Cara tries to drink from a canteen water bottle. Can you guys run me through what was happening? I ran into this guy 3 weeks ago doing the same thing back there. Yep. And he went off the handle on me. Put his backpack out of the way and he heard me say that. He comes around the corner and he starts dropping. Perfect. I'm going for my squad. I'm going to search you and then I'm going put you in the back and we'll head down and stuff like that. I see you out like I'm search on your breast region. Back of my hand. Okay. Back of my hand only on camera right here. Just trying to claw underneath him a little bit more. Then he he said, "How would you punch in?" And I said, "That would not be a good move." Then he backed up a little bit and went away. And then it escalated again in like 10 minutes on the middle of the floor. What a ridiculous way to drink your water. Even the cops seemed genuinely unimpressed. Dakota's aggressive behavior in the store was clearly a way to deflect attention from his partner, but another employee caught her sneaking around. Dakota didn't like this one bit. I noticed her over in my apartment and I could tell she was kind of stretchy, so I kind of followed her for a little ways back into sporting goods. One point. Yeah, I was waiting at the end of an aisle. He came walking down the aisle. I just asked him if there's anything I could help him with. Where'd you get the shoes, Cara? Oh my god. Okay. Cuz I'm I'm just look awful new. Told me like uh no if you weren't following me to sue harassment or whatever. But then I followed him over back to my department over hard lines here. And I called another bigger guy to be over there in the department with me in case anything happened. He saw me again, followed me into one of the aisles, threatening to knock me out if I kept following him. And I just tried to walk away, didn't look back at him, just kept walking. And I tried to keep my distance after that. Kind of tried to stay a little bit more out of sight while keeping an eye caused either of you guys to fear for your safety. I No, not me. I know what I wanted to do, but I'd say I was nervous that he might have come after me if I had not had my other friend there back. Either of you guys want to pursue charges just to make sure they can't come back here. I mean, who would have went f the cops? That's a different thing. Everything's been handled, and now it's time to take the suspects to jail for their crime. However, it looks like the officers might have a soft spot for romance. So, before they go, they allow these love birds to speak to each other one more time. I love you, baby. Okay. Thank you, guys. Thank you for letting me talk to her. Yeah, no problem. Like I said, man, when you're cool with me, I'm going to be cool with you. How romantic. They're like a thieving Romeo and Juliet. You'd think this would be the end of it, but Cara had one more card to play. In route to the jail house, she claimed she was about to pass out. What's that? Do you feel sick? Think you're going to faint? If you need medical attention, let me know. 3:26. She's claiming she just passed out in the back of my squat. If you want to send medical triate, Cara, hey, sit up, Cara. Can you sit up? Cara, sit up. Sit up. What happened? Are you okay? I You can't just be bending over. Can Can you lean out the door a little bit at least here? Do you want to get out? Yeah. What happened? Do you pass out easily? Do you pass out a lot? I've never done that before. Never done that before. Did you use it all today? When did you use? They have first responders coming to check her out. I guess she passed out, but she should be fine. You guys didn't use anything today, did you? No. You guys didn't use meth heroin or fentanyl at all? No. Okay. Don't I'm not asking to charge you with it. The only reason I'm asking is because if I can tell those guys that it might be an overdose, we could help her more. But if you're saying it's not an overdose. So Cara claims to have ODed. But Dakota says they hadn't used anything that day. Is she lying to the cops or did she lie to her Romeo? Nevertheless, the EMTs arrived to check up on her. She thinks she's overdosing. She said she used both heroin and meth. She was uh good until we put her in the squad. Seems to be a kind of a new trend. What's up with people in the back? I know. She was she was had no issue running through farmer. Don't fall. Don't fall. Get on the cand. Come on. Come on. Back up. Back up. Look at that. Move the car. Move up. Meanwhile, Dakota admitted he had meth stuffed up his body. But while he was in jail, calmly accepting his fate, Cara had a far worse reaction to being transported. And quite an unusual one for someone who overdosed and passed out merely minutes ago. Come on, Cara. Let's go. Let's go. Come on. That's it. Yep. Sit down. That's it. Um, this was related to Dakota that was just in here. So, watch underwear, bra, and all the above. Carrie, you already know what the process is, and you also know you have to be searched twice, and you have to be put through the scan. I have to go. I have a scan, but we also have to wait and do our process. Please don't put me on. Come on. Been like this for the last 5 hours. You need to fall down. personal plug your pistol. We have to get through this stuff first. You already KNOW THIS. Come on. Come on. You don't have anything, dude. Dakota was charged with misdemeanor counts of carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a concealed knife. Carol was charged with felony retail theft, bail jumping, and misdemeanor resisting obstructing an officer. All of their charges are repeats. So, now we move from one shoplifting duo to another. In July of 2023, officers were dispatched to a local Target in response to reports of a shoplifter. Immediately upon arrival, they spot the suspect walking out while talking on the phone. Get on the ground. On the ground right now. On the ground. Get on the ground. On the ground. Get on the ground. You're good. Hands out. Hands behind. Hands behind your back. I told him he was good to go. Anything on you, dude? Why you doing? Flip towards me. Oh, sorry. Flip towards him. Sorry. All right. What do you mean? I don't have anything in my pocket. I don't have anything. I don't understand. Where's the Where's the scissors and the hammer? Dude, we've been watching the entire time. Okay, but I didn't use no I didn't do anything. I didn't Well, we got PC. I didn't I didn't do anything at all. Well, that was quick and easy, but the suspect wasn't working alone. So, where's his partner in crime? The officers moved to question the man who was walking with the suspect, and he doesn't seem too trustworthy. What's your deal with your boy here? I don't know. I don't know. Where you stay at? Where you stay at? I stay in Palm West. So Palms West? How long you stay there? I don't see you though. What's your name, partner? My name What's up? What I did was I see you walk listen. Let me let me explain something to you. We're not going to play that game. All right. Not looking to arrest you, but you're going to get trespassed. Okay. Okay. Okay. What? I saw you the entire time walking around with him. I know. Listen, listen, listen. What? What did I just tell you? If you want to play stupid games, you're going to win super prizes. I promise you. Not looking like you. All right. Yes, sir. I've been watching you the entire time with him. I know what time it is. Cuz I know what he's here for cuz he's done it before. Right. Yes, sir. Right. Okay. What's your name? My name. You what? Palms. You said Palms West. Is that right here? No. Palm West. Go saying when I came. How you all the way over here? So I came outside. I got a girlfriend living in old old P right here. Uhhuh. On Capital Circle. Okay. behind the horse. You know the You don't have anything stolen inside that bag, do you? Where'd you get that bag from? I've been had this bag. You walked in with it? The man identified as Alexander is handling himself pretty well in the conversation. One could almost believe he was just an accidental attendee to his friend's shoplifting spree. However, when the cops question him about his bag, he does start to change his tune a bit. Right here, just pop this off for a second. Mhm. We're not looking to take you to gym. This is my bag, so you can't I got I got it. I'm not taking I'm not going through your bag. Okay, you going through my bag. I'm not going through your bag. Yep. You think that for a minute? Why you put cussing with me? All right, man. Listen, man. I'm not going hands on him. Why y'all put handcuffs on me, bro? You're just being detained right now, man. I'm not arguing with y'all with nothing, though. All right. This way. Lock him up, man. Listen, my bag's going with me, man. Yeah. Well, you going to take your bag with you today. Okay. Can I take my bag with me in the car? Actually, that looks like a Target. This not a Target bag, sir. Yeah, this my bag. Yeah, sir. This is my bag, sir. Well, you still got the thing. You can't go in my bag. This my bag. I brought the bag in here with me, sir. Man, listen. Understand, sir. I'm not trying to be a hard time. No. Why y'all detaining me? Bro, this my bag, bro. I got you. Take care of that. Man, listen. I'll go to school in order, bro. Okay. Now, that was highly suspicious. Alexander just so happened to bring a Target bag to Target and his panic does not end there and he becomes quite belligerent while the officers escort him inside their car. Why y'all searching me for, bro? Because you're under arrest right now. What am I for? What? What I do for theft? How I did a theft? I listen. I don't come here, man. Listen, hold up, bro. Bro, hold up. I got a right, man. I like to talk to my lawyer, bro. Okay. You don't get to call a lawyer here. So, can I search my person, man? I ain't did nothing wrong, bro. Yeah. You're under arrest for theft. How? I'm under arrest for theft. Cuz I just told you that. That's how. Bro, how? Okay, show me right there. You're wearing it apparently. I'm wearing where? The backpack, man. This my backpack. You don't know this guy? I got video on my on my baby, man. Okay. I'm not lying. Okay. On my baby, bro. I'm not lying. I don't know this guy. Okay. Well, then you shouldn't hang out with people you don't know. I don't know him, man. I promise you, man. I don't know him. So, you walking around the store together? No, man. Pushing the cart next to him. You guys are talking the whole time. I'm watching everything. So, no. Listen, man. Listen, man. On my mama, I do not know her. He asked me a question, man. Well, that's quite a bit of rage over a bag that supposedly wasn't stolen. At this point, things aren't looking good for Alexander, but the officers decide to give him a break and talk to the second suspect. The second guy's not too happy about being detained either and refuses to give his personal information. So, when you are detained, you have to give your information. Okay? You don't need to talk to us about what happened. Okay? But you need to give us your information. Okay, fine. You go to jail. You know what I'm saying? You You have to give your information. You're a suspect in a crime. I'm not. No, I am not. I used the man's telephone. That's all I did. I asked the man. I said, "Hey, can I use your telephone?" He said, "Yeah." And I made a phone call. And I walked out the door. I was in front of the man. Hey, hey, hey, you right now are a suspended crime. Whether you believe it or not, you are. You are lawfully required to give us your information. If you don't want to give it, you'll go to jail for that and whatever other charges we have here. So, it's up to you. You want to make it easy? We'd have a conversation. Be honest with you. I am having a conversation. Give him your information, please. I just don't understand. First name. Listen, I don't understand. First name, please. Like, whatever else you're saying, it's unimportant. You're saying it's not important because I didn't do anything wrong, bro. I did nothing wrong. You're going to go to jail. Let it find out. Okay. I mean, I don't understand why I'm going to jail. I didn't do anything wrong. The police officers are pretty patient with the suspect, but their attempts to make him understand that he needs to give them his personal information were futile. Of course, this spells disaster for him because refusing to give your info when detained is a reason for the cops to arrest you. So, you took pair of scissors. I've been I didn't take this scissor. I didn't take what I'm telling you. Listen to what I'm telling you. There's no scissor. Check that. You want to hear what I'm telling you? Yeah. Because I didn't have anything in my position. I didn't I didn't steal anything. Stop talking if you want to hear the information. here because I didn't steal anything. So, number one, you're under arrest for identifying yourself. Period. Oh, I'm not under arrest for doing anything. Yes, you are. Yes, you are. I did nothing wrong. Bo, you're not identifying yourself as a crime because No, it is not. No, it's not. No, it is not. You are. So, you've got to stop. I don't know. I don't It makes no sense of why you're making me I did nothing wrong. I was We had no reason to stop you. You don't have to come at me with I I do not have to because you had a hammer and I didn't do a thing. I didn't steal anything. Take me to jail. Talk about an incredibly pointless rebellion against authority. But for now, the suspect's been securely placed in the cop car. It's time to return to Alexander and see if he's telling the truth as an officer takes his backpack. [Music] That's my [Music] name. He came here with it. I came here with Either Alexander was lying about the bag being his or he was preparing the greatest coloring book festival in the history of the world. After a while, one of the employees comes out and reveals an interesting fact about the first suspect. They were Are you the last? They were both putting stuff in the bag. So, I mean, it was just the black. Okay. But I have an an incident on the white male a couple days ago running out of my fire scooter. Wait, wait, say that again. So, the white male a couple days ago Yeah. cut a scooter off my uh my sporty bridge. Okay. Fire. Did you report that? I have to go back and look at my email. Okay. Let's Let's get that. I mean, did did the cops come for it is what I mean. Oh, no. No, no, no. This was super late at night. Can you get the camera footage? I can. Yeah. You want to You want to You want to work on that? I mean, we got him here. We try to talk. Once again, a shoplifter proves that frequently stealing from the same store is not the best idea. The officers have to talk to the suspect once again. But his demeanor seems to have changed a bit, and not in a good way. All right, my guy. Step out. Step out. Take your hands off. No. Step out. No, you didn't take the handcuffs off. I didn't do anything. What are you What are you doing? Like, why the are you doing this to me, bro? I didn't do it. I didn't do anything wrong, bro. Why are you bumping me up, bro? What? No, bro. You know what you're doing is illegal, bro. Yes. No. For what? I didn't do it. No, I'm not resisting. Y'all just get me out of a car, bro. Correct. And I know and I'm going to sue I'm suing you. I'm suing y'all cuz I didn't do it for you. Telling us who you are. I I don't have to. I do not, bro. And so you cannot do this to me, bro. What is wrong with you, bro? Looks like he needs to ask himself what's wrong with him first. He continues to argue with the officer for quite some time. His companion, Alexander, on the other hand, gets tired of waiting for them to finish and decides to employ another stupid tactic by playing dead. [Music] It's hot in here and out of Tennessee. It looks like All right, man. Hey, we're going to get you on the stretcher. Okay, come on out onto the stretcher. Okay, let's go. Well, regardless if Alexander faked it or actually fell unconscious, an EMT squad still quickly came in and took care of him. Meanwhile, the first suspect was driven to jail, but this guy displayed a different kind of crazy. I want I want I want your superior. I want all of them. I want you I want you to go ahead and get the mayor. I want you to go ahead and get a hold of the mayor. I want you to go ahead and get a hold of the mayor and the president, too. You might as well invite Donald Trump's along with it. Y'all hurt me. I am physically in pain. My doctor's going to be notified. My lawyer's going to be notified. And y'all can me until your neck breaks. And that's all I got to say about the war in Vietnam. That poor black man. I mean, y'all y'all accused him of being a you know what I'm saying? And and they called the ambulance and embarrassed him as a black United States. Alexander was taken to the hospital. When they arrived there, he quickly got tired of playing dead. Unfortunately, this next part was blurred out, but it's still clear that Alexander's transformed into a screaming lunatic. [Applause] What was it? Nice. That rainbow the rainbow bed. Let's go. The first suspect was charged with petty theft, obstruction without violence, damaging an anti-shoplifting device, possession of a controlled substance, and smuggling contraband. Alexander was charged with giving false information to a law enforcement officer, and petty theft. In July 2023, cops were dispatched to a store after reports that a shoplifter, later identified as Gary, was stealing knives. They talked to an employee who shows them video evidence concealing one knife. There he is with the knife and there he is concealing it and then he didn't have as soon as he turned around. But also you can literally see something that he can see in his pocket right there. And then there's another knife that he had that went missing and then he just picked up a third knife right there. Went to the board rack aisle and now it's gone. But we definitely have him concealing at least one and then two other just disappear. He's had like multiple other items I can't identify. and he has like at least two other people with him, but they keep spreading apart, but I'm only worried about this one guy. I'm just worried that they'll start dumping it. The officers examine the footage for a few minutes, and the employee reveals that Gary's accompllices have left the shop. But the cops have all they need by this time, so now they go looking for the knife thief, but the question is, is he going to come quietly or not? Hey. Hey, police. Stop. He's running toward the front. Stop. Stop. Hey, police. Stop. Stop. I'm telling you to stop. You're under arrest now, man. We were just going to borrow you from the store. Okay, I got You're under arrest. The stolen items literally fell out of Gary's pockets as he ran. As the officers search him for the rest of his hall, they also reveal a rather interesting fact about the arrest. Something Gary really wasn't hoping to hear. Right now, you're under arrest for obstructing official business. So, we're going to change it. Change what? You're going to jail. We were literally going to talk to you and bar you and take the that you had stolen. You weren't even going to get charged, dude. Strange. He threw something on my fail. Fell. That's the craziest thing I ever heard of, man. Yeah, [Music] you're going to jail. You don't get you don't run from us like how many times did I tell you to stop and you kept running and you did have a needle and you made me tackle you. I didn't want to put on them. So, oh, you're going to jail. I told my ride. No, I couldn't. No, I mean it was right there. They they might have been right there. They're probably long gone now anyways. So, why were you stealing knives? I don't know. Yeah. After Gary learned that he could have gotten away without a charge, he must be really regretting his decisions by now. It takes Gary a few seconds to calm down, which the officers gently allow. However, now it's time to continue with the process, and an officer points out once again just how easily this all could have been resolved. souls. What's your name, man? It's Gary. Here's the deal. They've seen you pocket. They seen you pocket some. We were going to come bar. We're going to come tell you to get the hell out of the store and bar you. That's it. And you took off running. You did? Yeah, we got it. Now you're going to get an obstructing resisting. That's crazy. We literally told you police. We told you to stop and you didn't. I'm I'm I'm sorry, sir. As far as Gary's life goes, this definitely was not his best day. The cops lead Gary away, but during their short walk, an officer reveals an interesting tidbit of information about Gary's previous encounters with the law. You have a warrant for arrest, so you're going to jail for resisting arrest, too. I'm assuming that's why you ran other fact you're stealing. I'm very There's no way you're going to jail. No, I'm not saying that like that. Please. No, I can chase you through the store. Not doing that. I'm sorry. Gary was arrested for shoplifting, his warrant, and resisting arrest. When he tried to roll the dice by running from the law, he had incredibly bad luck. However, in this encounter, the law proved to be the star athlete. On the night of December 1st, 2022, officers in Melbourne, Florida were dispatched to a Dollar General after reports that a female, later identified as Michelle, had been shoplifting, stuffing things inside her bag. They first approached the staff. white female along here. My assistant said she saw her stuff and stuff in a great bag. She came in. [Music] Hello. Hi. How are you? Good. and some things. Okay. Okay. So, a couple things. One, would you like them to offer you a bag to shop around? Yes, cuz I don't have one. We use their bags or their basket or bags. Okay. I didn't I didn't see any walked in. It's highly unlikely that she didn't see any carts when she walked in when the bright yellow carts are right beside the entrance. Naturally, the cops aren't fooled one bit by this weak excuse, and they turn to the store employees considering their next move. So, you'd I can please Did you hear what he said? No. Did you hear from No, that's all. So you're fine. So that's that's all in your back. No, no, no, no, no. That's it. That's it. I want you to know if I already have it. is not theirs. No, the candy. I came out with the candy. I swear the candy's not theirs. What a dramatic display. Immediately upon being caught red-handed, she's crying. Why was Michelle stealing if she couldn't handle the possible consequences? In the middle of her weeping, the suspect comes up with a legal loophole and she thinks it just might exonerate her. I didn't want to anything though. Yeah, but part of that statue was concealing items. I wouldn't I didn't know that you Oh my god. [Music] She's saying she came in with this candy. Look at this. Just an empty bag, dude. I kind of feel bad when If society operated based on Michelle's logic, shoplifterss everywhere would be having a field day. Because in her mind, they could legally stuff things in their bags and walk around because they haven't left the store. Heck, they might even consume their loot inside the store so it wouldn't be considered stealing. Pretty stupid, right? And this begs the question, has this woman stolen anything before? An officer investigates. Michelle, you're under arrest for retail theft. Have you ever uh been convicted of a theft before? How many times? I don't know. All right. Have you ever missed court before? No. All right. So, you've got two or more prior theft convictions, Michelle. So, this is also going to be a felony. So, she's been convicted guilty of felony petty theft for two or more theft convictions, which means she definitely has most theft convictions. So, we're going to go ahead and take her to the booking. Um, yep. Do all the paperwork. No Michelle, it's a felony of Palm Bay and he did climb over this guard rail which is doesn't matter. [Music] Um, I believe it'll be a third. I think it'll be 2,000 bucks to 200 bucks. It turns out Michelle's made a career out of shoplifting. She keeps getting caught though. So maybe this woman needs a different hustle. Maybe something legal for a change. Upon arrival in jail, she shares her side of the whole mess with the officer. All right. So, tell them what happened tonight. Why Why did we get a call there? I I don't know. Guess they thought I was going to steal stuff or something was in my bag. So, did you take items that were inside the store? I know you said you didn't pass any point of sale. That's not within the statute. Did you put them in a bag? Yes. So, did you conceal them? Um, I didn't think so. Was that your personal bag that we took out for you? Yes, sir. Okay. Were the items in that bag? Did you purchase that? I I hadn't got the lady in front of me just just finished ringing out and I was I was just telling the guy that I was counting out my money on on the other counter. I hadn't had a chance to leave. I started getting stuff out of my bag to put on the counter and I I hadn't even gotten there yet. So, how the items from the store end up in that bag. She might not know it yet, but she's just confirmed she concealed the items that won't look good in court. However, the officer can see right through her innocent facade and then points out a simple fact that doesn't help Michelle's case. You didn't have any money, though. How are you going to pay for them? You had a couple and coins, but definitely not $43. I didn't have my debit card on me. Mhm. It wasn't in my bag. No, nothing was in the bag. Just the item. Are you sure I should have had a cash card in there? Nope. No. Okay. It might have been in the car then. What car? In my car. In the car. Oh, you had a car there? All right. Um, we'll put you in a salad cuz it gets a little cold. We're going to try to get some paperwork done. It's perfect. An absolutely bad decision from Michelle. This woman risked everything for $43 worth of items and added one more case to a growing criminal record for theft. This woman should really consider getting an honest, proper job. Sometimes shoplifterss have strange reactions to getting caught. Maybe hoping that they're dreaming or that they'll somehow confuse the officers. In January 2024, officers were called to a Family Dollar store because of a theft in progress. They approach an employee to investigate. Yeah. Where's the people that the other lady here? Hold on one second. Cool. Did you see Did you see her take anything yet? Did she hide anything? She's been going in between the aisles and then she just had Oh, you thought you thought she had something? She had nails and some other stuff. Whoa. Hey, how are you? Good. I'm Sergeant Hurley with the Van PD. All right. Do you happen to be stealing anything right now? No, I'm paying for all this. Do you happen to be hiding anything on your person? No, I sure. Okay. I swear. They're concerned. Yeah, I wouldn't mind if you if you don't mind. They're concerned that you did. No, I didn't. I swear. The suspect seemed incredibly afraid when the officer approached her. But for now, we might give her the benefit of the doubt as most people are scared if suddenly confronted by a cop. Plus, she willingly offered her bag to the cop. The officer continues to investigate and then the suspect says something strange. What you up to today? Just doing some grocery shopping. You doing some grocery shopping? Yeah. What's your name, sweetie? Avery. Avery? You got an ID on your Avery in here? I don't. I'm from out of town. You're from out of town? Yeah. What you doing here out of town? Visiting. Visiting where? here in your van or safety. I'm not going to find anything in here, am I? No. You don't have any guns or anything like that? No. Nothing crazy? No. It's just Are you 21? Yes. Okay. I care about that. I didn't stinky stuff. Jeez. You didn't put anything in your purse? No. This is all my stuff. Where's these nails at that they were here? They they told me about what nails. Um I don't I don't have nails. You don't have nails? No, I'm still putting them back. Did you put them back? No, I think so. I don't have them on me. You see, I don't have any I literally just came in here in the shop. I don't I get harassed every time I come in here. You But you're not from here. So, how do I know you? I came here. I come here. I The suspect identified as Avery has stumbled over her words already. The officer's focus is razor sharp and he decides to confront Avery about the holes in her story. If she was afraid before, she's going to be terrified now. You know what? Can we start over so we can be honest with each other? Right. Hold on. Can we be honest with each other? Yeah. Because I've been honest with you. I told you exact I came up to you and told you exactly why I'm stopping you. Right. Yeah. And who I was and what's going on. Correct. Okay. I just So, who are you first and foremost? What? I'm Avery. What's your real name? Avery. I don't have an ID. You don't have any? How the hell don't you have an ID? It's 2023. Town. Okay. I'm from out of town. Where do you live at? I live in Colorado. Colorado. Yes. But you live in Orlando right now. You're staying in. I'm from here. Yes. One of my friends called me. My friends in here with me. The ones that are outside that left when I pulled up in the Jeep. Did they? Yeah. Of course. It's all the police show up. Kelly, they're going to want to come back and pick you up, right? I think so. I didn't steal anything. I checked my bag. I got an answer for you. Yeah. Now Avery understands she's been caught. And it's only a matter of time till the officer finds something in her bag or on her person. She suddenly realizes there's a way out of this situation and does something truly baffling. I'm just going to leave. No, I'm sorry. I'm just going to leave. I'm sorry. [Music] I'm fine. I'm fine. I don't have anything behind your back. I'm sorry. I don't HAVE ANYTHING. I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY. I don't have anything to do. Hands behind your back. [Music] resisting [Applause] your friend and they left you. I wasn't I literally have money on my card and I'll buy all everything. I told you I had money. Why did you run on me? Because I just Was that stupid? Was that stupid? Yeah, sorry. It was stupid. You're right. I just thought my friends might have done the same thing and I What an incredibly strange move to make for someone who claims to be innocent. Was she hoping the officer would just let her leave? That they'll go home without saying anything? Her Jedi mind trick skills proved insufficient. So then she resorts to explaining her action. Stop. I'm sorry. Right here. You made me run. I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You made me tackle you for no reason. I know. I'm sorry. This is dumb. Yeah, I fell out her sweater. Yeah, those were in my bag. Those were in my bag. That's what we were looking for, right? From out there. I had them in my hand. Just talk to me. I had them in my hand. Wait up there for a second. Thank you. I had them in my hand, sir. I was going to pay for all of them. I have my card. I'll pay for everything. I'll pay for every single thing. I swear I have my card. I have my card. I'll pay for everything. Sir, I wasn't going to say Hey, guess what? You know what the time is? We're done past that, aren't we? I'm sorry. You had to run. Why? I'm sorry, dude. I was just nervous cuz I didn't know my face did something. I'm sorry. Why would you? I'm sure they did. Why would they leave me? Because they knew what you were going to do. I wasn't going to steal. I will pay for everything right now. I swear to God, I don't have my past that point. I already told you. Please. Please. Please. I will pay. It's uncertain why her friends left her. Maybe they already got their loot and wanted to save themselves. Or they might have been aware that Avery was going to steal, so they didn't want to get involved. On the way to the squad car, Avery offers another reason for her runaway episode. Even more ridiculous than the previous one. I didn't do anything, please. I didn't steal anything. I didn't steal anything. I didn't steal anything. Okay, the repetitive system is good enough. Okay, we're here. We're going to find out who you are. We're going to find out why the hell you ran for me. Because I was nervous. People don't say that these cops out here are bad and these I swear I'm not from here. Please knock it off. Please, I'm not from here. Pull off the stories like that. How you doing? Where are my friends? Oh, just fine. Please, please, please take a seat. Hold on one second. Let's get a better shirt. So, what's the uh Where did the stuff pop out of your up shirt? You think? I just had a sweat. I just I just had them in my hand. No, you didn't. Your hands were clear. You were holding the baggie. No, I wasn't. My hands had my jacket on them. Okay. So, you're hiding them up underneath your jacket. Thank you. I had my hands underneath. Avery's friends clearly didn't have her best interest in mind, ditching honor the moment the cop showed up. An officer questions Avery about her missing ID, but she somehow seems to misunderstand the situation. Either. Huh? I told you I don't have an license or anything. Ever though? You've never had a state ID anywhere in the state in the United States? No, I haven't got one yet. No. Ever? Like since between the ages of zero and 23. You've never gotten an identification card? I haven't, sir. I haven't. Okay. So, we're going to book you underneath Jane Doe. And you're going to run your fingerprint system. I've been homeless and I've been I've been on the streets when I was in Colorado and I came out here. How long you were in Colorado? My whole life. Why am I being What am I being in trouble with? I don't understand. cuz I ran. Uh yeah, you stole stuff. You ran. I stole one thing. I ran. I didn't steal anything. And now I'm like I didn't even get to leave the store. That's not even stealing anything. And you guys stopped me from my friends. You ran. I did. And it had nothing to do with me. And then you ran. Wait, cuz you guys are stopping me for my friends. Yeah, because you were stealing stuff. And then you guys ARE THREATENING TO CALL TO TO TURN ME IN. AND FOR WHAT? For nothing. I didn't even leave THE STORE WITH THIS STUFF. I WAS GOING TO PAY FOR IT. NO, you weren't. YES, I WAS. I PROMISED THAT EVERYTHING I LOVE, I WAS GOING TO PAY FOR IT. I HAVE THE MONEY. Even though she's willing to pay right now, she had a different plan in mind while inside the store. The officer demonstrates a lot of patience, but Avery continues to try and shift the blame to her friends. You didn't even let me go to You should have wait till I came out the store. You ran before we even got to that phone. I get that, BUT YOU GUYS ARE ACCUSING ME OF DOING BECAUSE OF MY FRIENDS. NO, I'm not. I'm talking TO YOU. NO, YOU STOP ME BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE THAT I WAS WITH CUZ THEY LEFT. I told you they left. I didn't stop you because I thought I told you why they said that THEY SEEN THE COPS. OKAY, here's what we're going to do. We're going to book you underneo so we find out who you really are. For what? Run your fingerprints. What am I being booked under for? What I already told you? I'm not I'm being charged with theft. I didn't even steal nothing. Retail theft. I didn't even steal anything. And resisting arrest. I didn't even steal anything though. Please. When I If I find out you have warrants, please. You're going to be charged with a felony. Just so you're I don't have warrants here. I've never lived here. Please. You have warrants in Colorado. No. Please. Then who are you really? Because you're throwing a fit. I'm not. What's your real name? I'm just so fed up WITH THIS STUFF AND I'm getting stopped for no reason. You're not getting stopped for no reason. I've already explained that to you. We can keep talking in circles or we can be adults and talk like people. What are you going to do? Avery's cries don't deter the officer. And it slowly sinks in that she'll soon be experiencing the consequences of her actions. On the subject of Avery's friends, we're wondering what happened. Were they shoplifting with her or did they wait outside? The employee from earlier explains it was the two females that came in. The female passenger of the vehicle and then the female that y'all arrested. Okay. What did you see him doing? Uh the one female with the orange tank top on that y'all have. She was behind this Q- line right here. That's where she started right there where that Ubot is and that's where the lighters and stuff were. Um so I was watching her cuz I was scanning out my damages and keeping an eye. So then I called Fina because the other girl went over into the makeup aisle and then she went around the store looking for and then they both ended up in the makeup aisle. That's where they started with the nail glue and the nails and all that stuff. So when I seen the one girl that's in the pass of the vehicle, she was just like real fidgety. They just look like they were just what how they were acting. And so I had Reena finish watching. Yes, sir. That's what I'm doing right now. We're all good. had uh Reena watching them and then that's when Reena called me on my phone and said the other girl with the tank top on. She split off from her friend. So that's when I walked over and pretend I was looking for something in the freezer and cooler and she was getting ready to stuff the nails that time. But then she seen me come and she tried to make like she was looking for some food. So then that's when she the other girl went over to the freezer, got a bag of chicken, went and paid for her stuff. She went outside and we kept watching the girl with the tank top. And then when I tried to when I went out there to look for her, I didn't see her. But then the other girl was looking real mysterious. So that's what made me call y'all cuz I don't have time to be chasing nobody no more or fighting with nobody. Avery was charged with retail theft, resisting obstructing a peace officer, and obstructing identification. Her bond was set for $100. She might consider finding better friends and not getting herself in trouble by stealing. As we've seen from all these cases today, it doesn't matter how much the loot is worth. Shoplifting brings more trouble, even if you're a daring criminal who steals phones or other expensive stuff instead of random things. If you like today's episode, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel. We'll see you next time as we unravel more hidden files.