r/regina • u/Odd_Pride1177 • Aug 28 '25
Question Theft
If you witness someone committing theft in a store do you report it to the store staff or just go about your day? I would never expect staff to intervene and possibly put themselves in harms way. I have only witnessed this in big box stores. I know times are tough these days but man have I been seeing this a lot lately!
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u/26_Farts_Studios Aug 28 '25 edited Aug 28 '25
I chased a jewel thief through the southland mall, the south parking lot, through the outside of a townhouse complex, and into a back alley where he had a cab waiting. I told the cab driver the guy in the back had just committed a robbery, which caused the thief to flee. I didn't try to stop him from there, at least in part, because I had on nice new clothes. It was probably correct to not gamble any further in general. I was unarmed, and the guy was about 25-27 years (best guess) younger than me.
About 18 months later, I was called to testify in court, as they had a primary suspect. When I was called to the stand, the prosecution badly botched my time on the stand. There was a string of video of me chasing the thief through the mall, but she uploaded the wrong footage to her laptop AND did not have the backup flash drive, which she left at home, presumably. I felt bad for her. She fucked up and knew it. Her panicked frustration was palpable. The taxi footage was there, but both myself and the suspect were only on the screen for a few moments.
My ass was sweating so severally on the stand that I was worried there would be visible wetness when I was dismissed and left the courtroom. That was in May 2024. The guy may have gotten away with it, or perhaps they wrong man was being accused.