Thiefs and thefts during the Christmas 2011 holiday

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

returned over the weekend

Before or after Christmas? (IOW, before they were done with it?)

[tutusue]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

The wreath was returned. From KHON's Facebook status update:

"A wreath taken from a Kapahulu office building was returned over the weekend.The theft was caught on camera the elevator at the Prudential Locations Building.Prudential said it would not file a police report.The wreath was returned to a security guard along with a written apology.Prudential has not yet decided if it will re-hang the wreath.
Source: www.khon2.com
Published: 2011-12-27 07:52:00 GMT"

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

I haven't heard of anything new regarding the wreath, but even more info to come soon regarding the Toys R Us theft at Windward Mall.

Other than both occurring this holiday season, I don't think there's much in the way of similarity between both of these crimes.

The Toys R Us case involves merchandise that was described as being worth more than a $1000, so we're talking about felony theft charges, not misdemeanors.

The toy store was victimized by a group consisting of one male and 5 females. So this isn't a "spur of the moment" thing. They conspired and planned this out.

You have to love the way the attorney puts his spin on the story.

"They know they're going to have to turn themselves in so it says a lot about them," said Breiner. "They recognize they have a responsibility to the community, to themselves and more importantly to their children."

Uhhh, they turned the stolen toys over to the attorney because they were caught red-handed on camera and were facing arrest. GMAB! It has nothing to do with them suddenly developing any sense of responsibility. Had they successfully evaded the cameras and gotten away with their misdeed, they would not have returned the goods.

"Frankly they're single moms with kids," said Breiner. "If you look at what they took, nothing in here is for an adult, it's all for children basically under 10 years of age. That's no excuse. That's just the reality of it."

"It's sad that this is what they felt compelled to do to meet the needs and the expectations of their children and their families," he said. "The public knows this is not an excuse it's merely a reflection on our times."

Twice, this attorney says he's not making excuses for his prospective clients. And yet, that is exactly what he does.

It will be up to Toys R Us to decide whether to press charges against this group. But if it is revealed that this same group has been involved with other thefts, one would hope that the toy store chain will pursue charges in order to put a stop to their wave of crime and to protect other merchants. At the very least, all the adults involved need to log in some community service. Single parent, unemployed,.... doesn't matter. There's no way they should get off scot-free for what they did.

[bueller555]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

I haven't heard of anything new regarding the wreath, but even more info to come soon regarding the Toys R Us theft at Windward Mall.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

Compared to the bunch that recently stole tons of stuff while completely busted on camera and now facing charges, this wreath was nothing.

[buzz1941]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

Notice that it he appears to give up and not go back to try and chase the thief.

Too late, he's on a different floor.

[tutusue]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

[...]But it would be nice to have the woman pilloried in the town square for a day or two.[...]

She's being cyber-pilloried on YouTube, in social media and in the news for longer than a day or 2! How humiliating. Karma, baby...

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

If you put up something like a wreath without securing it, expect some scum to steal it. The company can afford the 'huge' loss and the video now has them under duress, mission accomplished. But it would be nice to have the woman pilloried in the town square for a day or two. Do this for crimes and watch uncivility deminish significantly. Hello taggers!

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

Notice that the maintenance guy, the moment he realizes what's happened, tries to reopen the elevator door but the elevator is already into its cycle.

Notice that it he appears to give up and not go back to try and chase the thief.

[buzz1941]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

Notice that the maintenance guy, the moment he realizes what's happened, tries to reopen the elevator door but the elevator is already into its cycle.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

Oh course a customer of the establishment... minimal value of theft... public seeing it, backlash, etc. Guess that's enough right?

Pretty much.

The Prudential executive interviewed by KHON had this to say:

"You're caught up in the moment, had a nice dinner, see the wreath and think oh well, why not? no one could be watching. Unfortunately we actually were watching."

Clearly, the implication is that the couple were patrons of Side Street Inn. And if they were regulars there, then no question they could have been ID'ed and prosecuted, if Prudential wanted to press charges. But what would have been the result? Probably a misdemeanor charge, at most.

No, the far bigger punishment for those thieves was publicly releasing the surveillance footage. I'm sure that employees of Side Street Inn will recognize the couple. Do you think they'll ever be able to show their faces at that restaurant again?

And what about that lady's friends, neighbors, co-workers, and associates? No doubt many of them have gotten wind of this story. Think about the shame and embarrassment she has brought upon herself and her family members.

[Menehune Man]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

... brazenly...
Who knows? Maybe the thief is a customer of one of the business tenants, and the building's management decided that it wasn't worth it to pursue criminal charges against her over something that isn't of high value. Maybe they decided that the embarrassment of being "caught in the act" and having that video broadcasted on the local newscast and on YouTube is punishment enough for her.

Oh course a customer of the establishment... minimal value of theft... public seeing it, backlash, etc. Guess that's enough right?

[anapuni808]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

well, whatever - its an interesting scenario.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

unless she was a vendor not a tenant of the building? like a florist or something like that? I'm not trying to excuse her but somehow she just doesn't seem to be stealing the wreath - at least judging by her "body language".

If she's entitled to the wreath, then all is good and distributing the video was a mistake. If she's not entitled to it, then her body language is all the more galling. She certainly seems to think she's entitled.

But the news reports indicate that she wasn't entitled to it.

I agree with FM. I think she decided previously to take it. There's no obvious hesitation or decision process on her part. She goes for it.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Christmas Wreath Thief

As the KHON news report confirms, the wreath was definitely stolen by that lady. So there's no need for any speculation about whether a theft had taken place or not.

Earlier, I was confounded by how she seemed to have brazenly taken the wreath off the elevator wall with no hesitation. Now that I think about it further, she likely noticed the wreath sometime earlier and prior to exiting the building, she planned to swipe it on her way out if opportunity allowed. And it did.

When she smiled at her companion in the elevator, she could have been thinking/saying something along the lines of being so clever at saving herself some $$$$ taking the building's wreath instead of buying one at the store.

Another interesting observation: Look at the man who entered the elevator following the theft. Judging by his work apron and tool belt, he's the maintenance guy. (Perhaps he is the guy who installed the wreath.) His startled expression when he sees the now wreath-less wall says it all. Right away, he knows something is wrong and he realizes that couple pulled a fast one. But by the time he comes to that realization, the elevator has already started up and it is too late for him to catch them.

"Prudential is taking it in stride and is not filing a police report."
Now that's the Christmas Spirit though it may be displaced. IMO

Who knows? Maybe the thief is a customer of one of the business tenants, and the building's management decided that it wasn't worth it to pursue criminal charges against her over something that isn't of high value. Maybe they decided that the embarrassment of being "caught in the act" and having that video broadcasted on the local newscast and on YouTube is punishment enough for her.