A grocery store worker was fired for filming a trio of men stealing $500 worth of items from a King Soopers in Centennial, Colorado, on June 18.
When Santino Burrola was alerted to the incident at the business, he began recording with his phone, the New York Post reported Thursday.
Supermarket employee fired for recording 3 men stealing https://t.co/UdqPpAIhtF pic.twitter.com/YhLhTqGKRC
— New York Post (@nypost) July 6, 2023
Burrola said he saw one man leaving with a cart piled high with laundry detergents and scent boosters.
The clip shows the group tossing the items in the car, and from behind the camera, Burrola said, “Really bro? You gotta resort to this? Economy’s not that bad.”
When the car started to take off, he grabbed what appeared to be a foil covering off its license plate:
Burrola, who is a former military police officer, called law enforcement about the incident and later posted the video online in hopes that someone would recognize the group, and the clip went viral.
However, when Burrola went back to the grocery store for his next shift, he was informed he had been suspended. One week later, he was terminated from his job.
“Did I feel that I overstepped boundaries? Not really because I didn’t physically touch them or alter them in their shoplifting in any way. I just revealed the license plate to help the community be aware, the police be aware, and to help better catch them,” he told 9 News.
Burrola also said, “I would never let any criminal conduct slide, especially when it’s happening right in front of me.”
Authorities eventually arrested the driver, Jorge Pantoja, who is in custody at the Adams County Detention Facility on unrelated felony charges, according to the Arapahoe Sheriff’s Office, adding the man has also been charged with theft/shoplifting.
Meanwhile, officials are still looking for the two passengers involved.
Burrola said the supermarket chain’s policy prohibits workers from going after alleged thieves or intervening when a theft is occurring.
In a statement, King Soopers said, “We have security measures in place to help prevent crime and de-escalate such confrontations to minimize the risk to our associates,” adding the business values its associates and their safety.
Burrola’s family has since created a GoFundMe page to help him recover lost funds because he had planned on moving to Florida where relatives live.
In May, a similar instance transpired when two Big Lots managers in California lost their jobs after following and recording an alleged shoplifter in the businesses’ parking lot, according to Breitbart News.
“In 2021, retail theft cost the industry $94.5 billion,” noted the outlet, which has extensively covered shoplifting instances across the country.
