Blaze News original: 10 times sick-of-it-all customers witnessing brazen retail theft stepped up and put stop to it

Spunky older woman blocks 'a**hole' shoplifter, yanks off his ski mask, and yells 'enough of this bulls**t' as he exits empty-handed

Global News reported that the Jan. 29, 2022, incident at a Walmart in Campbell River — about four hours northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia — began when a man followed the suspected shoplifter heading for the store exit. The man — who apparently was recording video of the heist — asked the apparent shoplifter if he was planning on paying for the items that filled his cart. You can view a news report about the incident here.

"Yeah," the alleged shoplifter — who was wearing a ski mask — replied. As the suspect grabbed his bike and wheeled it toward the open door, he told a gray-haired woman who arrived there before him "excuse me."

She shouted at him, “Excuse me!” and blocked his path with her shopping cart. With that, the woman got angry and began pulling off the man's apparent disguise — ordering him to "take that f***in' mask off, asshole!" — and hollering that she's seen "enough of this bulls**t!”

The crook put up no fight as the woman pulled his ski mask all the way off, and the man who was recording the incident on video — and perhaps the woman as well — pulled the shopping cart back into the store's lobby. "F*** off, asshole!" the woman exclaimed. "Get out!" The man recording the video told him, "Take your s**t and go."

The woman then yelled it's "you assholes" who "jack up the price for everybody else ... it’s about time they got caught!” The alleged shoplifter left with only his backpack.

Furious customer body-slams, wrestles shoplifting duo outside Walgreens: 'I am way bigger than you, and I will f*** you up!'

A northern California Walgreens customer told KGO-TV he witnessed a male putting bottles of pills into a backpack on March 19, 2022, and decided it was time to act. "I said [to myself], 'This is a time you can make an impact, make this happen,'" the customer — who requested the station use only his first name, Kevin — told the station.

Kevin handed his cell phone to another person in the Alameda store and asked that person to record what was about to happen, the station said. You can view cellphone video of what occurred here. Video shows Kevin on top of the suspected shoplifter, who's dressed in a grey hoodie, and the suspect yells out, "Leave me alone! Leave me alone!" and Kevin can be heard hollering for bystanders to call police.

"I am way bigger than you, and I will f*** you up!" Kevin growls at the suspect. "I am placing you under citizen's arrest!" He also tells the suspected shoplifter that prices are going up because of crooks like him.

KGO said after more than a two-minute struggle, the suspect begins yelling out to a friend, after which a male dressed in blue soon walks up to the scene and gets directly involved.

"He came behind me and tried to get me in a headlock," Kevin told KGO in regard to the second assailant, adding that "I picked him up by the groin and threw him to the ground." Things ended with the suspects running to their nearby getaway car, the station said.

Police told KGO the stolen merchandise was recovered — but the store didn't seek prosecution.

Walmart shopper tackles purportedly drunk shoplifter who crashed into parked car just moments prior

An employee of a Walmart in Federal Way, Washington, tried to stop a male from leaving the store with unpaid merchandise on March 30, 2021, after which the suspect told the worker to "back up" and continued toward the exit, apparently refusing to put down the merchandise.

But a customer approached the suspect and demanded, "You better put that down before I knock you out." The suspect refused to comply, and the unidentified shopper kicked the merchandise from the suspect's hands. The suspect tried to swing at the Good Samaritan, who quickly took the suspect to the ground and subdued him. A Walmart employee intervened as the customer climbed off the suspect's back, and the apparently dazed suspect was able to climb to his feet.

Authorities arrested 29-year-old Troy K. Robinson on charges of DUI, hit and run, and attempted theft in the third degree, the Daily Mail reported, adding that Federal Way Police Commander Kurt Schwan said, "Robinson had entered the business and was attempting to shoplift when confronted by store employees."

Robinson, according to Schwan, reportedly "threatened to assault anyone who touched him ... that is when a 21-year-old male community member stepped in and confronted Robinson ... when officers arrived, they located Robinson in the parking lot and detained him." You can view a news report about the incident here.

Good Samaritan customer all done playing, brutally throws apparent TJ Maxx shoplifter into security gate after physical struggle over bags

The customer became involved when two women tried to exit a T.J. Maxx in Mira Loma, California, while carrying armfuls of merchandise, KABC-TV reported, adding that a witness said the altercation occurred about 1:30 p.m. April 30, 2023. You can view a video report about the incident here.

While one of the women got out of the store before the Good Samaritan could step into action, her apparent partner in crime — who was trailing behind — wasn't so lucky. The man got between the second woman and the store's exit and grabbed the bags she was toting as she attempted to get away — and she hit the much larger man in the face twice. Eventually, the alleged shoplifter was able to get away — but without the two bags she apparently tried to take, KABC said, adding that while law enforcement made a report, no arrest took place at the time.

Frustrated Target shopper steps in to stop thief, rips bin from his hands: 'Stop that s**t, man! Get a f***ing job!'

Video shows 28-year-old Samuel Balcorta of San Francisco carrying a bin of stolen items through the exit doors of a Bay Area Target on March 16, 2022, when an unarmed shopper approached him, ripped the bin from his hands, and yelled, "Stop that s**t, man! Get a f***ing job!" You can view video of the confrontation here.

Colma police said the shopper who intervened soon after called police, which led to Balcorta's arrest. It was later revealed that Balcorta was out on bail for a prior felony charge at the time of the incident, and this time he was booked on burglary and grand theft charges as well as an additional felony charge for committing a felony while out on bail.

Crook likely assumes he pulled off jewelry heist — until plucky patrons pin perp to pavement

A male dressed in a suit walked into Marina Jewelers in Scottsdale, Arizona, around 11:40 a.m. Sept. 1, 2023, and then allegedly snatched a tray of expensive items and tried to flee the store. But two patrons thwarted the deed. Police identified the suspect as 53-year-old Troy Bell.

"On his way out the door, he encountered two brave men who were entering the jeweler's and tried to stop him,” police said in a news release, according to the Daily Independent. "The three reportedly got into a fight which ultimately resulted in Bell being detained by the two men, and some other helpers."

An onlooker captured video, which you can view here, of the bystanders chasing and eventually pinning the alleged robber to the ground. Within minutes, police arrived and made the arrest; Bell was charged with shoplifting, assault, and failure to provide a truthful name. All of the jewelry, said to be worth thousands of dollars, was recovered.

Jiu-jitsu black belt takes down alleged violent thief in Chicago 7-Eleven — then livestreams himself pinning male to floor until cops arrive

Idriz Redzovic, a third-degree Gracie jiu-jitsu black belt, took down an alleged violent thief in a Chicago 7-Eleven on June 16, 2022 — and then took out his cell phone and began recording live video of him pinning the man to the floor until police arrived, WFLD-TV reported. You can view a news report about the incident here.

Redzovic — who runs Supreme Academy of Jiu-Jitsu in Lincoln Park — went to the 7-Eleven on Ashland and Lawrence to buy Slurpees for his kids, the station said. But the black belt with 22 years of self-defense training noticed a man harassing people outside the store, WFLD noted.

"He comes up to me and says, ‘What are you looking at?'" Redzovic recalled to the station. "In my training I tell people to take a step back, hands up, don’t engage unless you feel safe."

Redzovic told WFLD he continued to watch the man, who soon made his way into the store and then appeared to attack an employee — a moment that was caught on surveillance video. Then it was game over.

"Once I saw him actually connect and hit the employee in his head, I jumped in, grabbed him like I do in training here, put him down, flattened him like a pancake, and then I tied him up like a pretzel in a position called ‘Gift Wrap’ or ‘Twisting Arm Control,’" Redzovic recounted to the station.

Redzovic then took out his cell phone and began livestreaming himself keeping the man subdued — for 18 minutes, WFLD said. Arriving officers arrested 30-year-old Christopher Cruz and charged him with two misdemeanor counts of retail theft and battery, the station said.

Marine Corps veteran calmly disarms gun-toting, would-be store robber in seconds — and sends his accomplices running for their lives

The veteran remained calm when a trio of would-be robbers — one of them armed — stormed into a Chevron gas station convenience store in Yuma County, Arizona, on the morning of Oct. 20, 2021, KSAZ-TV reported.

As one of the suspects flashed a handgun and pointed it at the cashier, the veteran quickly grabbed the weapon and twisted the suspect's arm, appearing to drive the suspect to the ground. Two other suspects who entered the store behind their armed partner fled the scene in shock and fear. One can be seen falling to the ground before running away as if his life depended on it. The veteran was able to pin down the previously armed suspect until deputies arrived. (=You can view a news report about the incident — which includes surveillance video from the store — here.

The suspect was arrested and booked into the Yuma County Juvenile Justice Center for armed robbery and aggravated assault. The other two suspects reportedly got away and were still on the loose at the time of the report. When sheriff's deputies asked the veteran how he was able to take control of the situation, he reportedly replied, "The Marine Corps taught me not to [mess] around."

Six days later, the Yuma County Sheriff's Office presented the veteran — James Kilcer — with its Citizens Valor Award for his actions. Kilcer wore a "Make America Great Again" hat and a "Let's Go Brandon" T-shirt to the ceremony.

As readers of Blaze News know by now, "Let's Go Brandon" is a subtle variation of the chant "F*** Joe Biden," which had just started to gain popularity at the time after an NBC reporter incorrectly insisted that fans in the stands at a NASCAR race were chanting the former rather than the latter.

Theft from Alabama Tractor Supply store skids to a halt as armed customer blows out getaway car's tire: 'Everyone is walking around with guns in Theodore'

Two men attempted a broad-daylight theft from an Alabama Tractor Supply store on Black Friday 2022 — Nov. 25 — but some customers weren't having a bit of it, including one who pulled out his gun and blew out at least one tire on the getaway vehicle.

Witnesses said the two men were trying to steal merchandise from a Tractor Supply Co. location in Theodore on Friday morning, WPMI-TV reported. Theodore is about 15 minutes southwest of Mobile. Ryan Maxie and his fiancée, Katie Clark, were in the store's parking lot when they heard shots after two men loaded up a shopping cart with unpaid merchandise, WPMI said.

Witnesses told the station a customer pulled one of the suspects, Toby Priest, out of the getaway SUV. The other suspect, Troy Brown, was able to take off in the vehicle — but was stopped when a different customer shot out at least one of the vehicle's tires, WPMI said. Police soon found the getaway SUV abandoned on Highway 90 at the Interstate 10 entrance — with at least one flat tire, the station said.

Brown and Priest were booked into Mobile Metro Jail and were being charged with third-degree felony theft, the station said. Maxie shared some advice for crooks who try their luck in his neck of the woods, WPMI noted: "Everyone is walking around with guns in Theodore." You can view a news video about the incident here.

Customer — as he's holding six-pack of Miller Lite — fires gun at armed robber in store and ends threat 

Surveillance video shows a man dressed in black and wearing a black face mask enter the Stone Lake Marathon Mini Mart in Cassopolis, Michigan, on July 27, 2023. Police said the suspect announced himself to the clerk by saying, "You know why I’m here."

A customer appeared to be going to the register with a six-pack of Miller Lite just as the suspect went behind the counter to reportedly threaten the store clerk. However, the customer holding the beer took out his gun — for which he has a valid concealed carry permit — and shot the would-be robber. The customer fired three shots, then moved to the side of the counter and shot three more times. He then fired a seventh shot at the suspected thief. The customer reportedly shot the suspect in the arm, back, and face — and held the suspect at gunpoint until police arrived. You can view a video report about the incident here.

While the suspected would-be robber didn't have a gun, police said he did threaten the clerk with a box cutter. The suspect was identified in court records as 35-year-old Cordelius Anthony Martin; he was released from a hospital on Aug. 16 and charged with armed robbery. Martin — reportedly a three-time felon, meaning he could face up to life in prison for the attempted robbery — was being held on a $100,000 bond.

The store clerk told WOOD-TV that the armed customer "saved my life."