- 6 weeks ago
My Strange Arrest (2023) Season 3 Episode 12- Top 5- Strange Steals
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00A crossbow klepto with a bold plan.
00:20A smashing grabber who thinks inside the box.
00:23Who uses a box to cover their hands?
00:27A shoplifter with a creative excuse.
00:36A serpent snatcher who hides the goods in a sensitive spot.
00:40If you are gonna steal a snake, you probably shouldn't put it down in front of your pants.
00:45We're counting down the strangest of the strange steals caught on camera.
00:57Kicking things off at number five, a man shoves his live loot where the sun don't shine.
01:06Animal House Pet Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, has seen its share of theft over 30 years in business.
01:13Despite their best efforts, some expensive animals began to go missing, including snakes.
01:22Pretty much to the day, every month, we were missing snakes.
01:27You know, these snakes go for $150, $300, $400 a piece.
01:32The owners, Steve and John Silk, continuously check their surveillance footage in search of answers.
01:39Probably flipped them for $100 or something.
01:43Something like coming in here, twisting a lock off, pulling a snake out of the tank.
01:46I mean, that's a quick $100, $150 for him right there.
01:51Finally, the Silk spotted a man later identified as 27-year-old Travis Tretter, acting suspiciously near the reptile room.
02:02My son came to me and said, you know, I think this is the guy.
02:05The second he walked through the store, I was kind of excited because I'm like, okay, something's gonna happen.
02:11Steve and John immediately headed into the store's office to follow their suspect on the security cameras.
02:22I kept watching and watching and watching after, you know, several minutes went by.
02:30Sure enough, he had walked right up to the cage, looked over his shoulder a few times towards the register,
02:34and in one quick motion, just kind of twisted the lock off the cage, reached in, grabbed two pythons, and dropped them right in his pants.
02:43The Silk's watch as Tretter stole snakes, very similar to the ones that had previously gone missing from the store.
02:49As Steve confronted Tretter, John recorded the interaction on his cell phone.
03:10John?
03:11John?
03:12Yeah.
03:13Man, I'm telling you right now.
03:14What's up?
03:15Locking the door.
03:16I'm not in that door.
03:17Stop.
03:18I'm locking the door.
03:20Locking the door.
03:22Lock the door.
03:23What's going on?
03:24He broke loose, hit the front door.
03:26Stop.
03:27No, no, sorry.
03:28Man, stop.
03:29Please.
03:30Adam had a chokehold I thought would slow him down, but it didn't.
03:33Meanwhile, watching all of this unfold was Roosevelt Kimball, an active-duty Army veteran who was waiting at the counter to pay for dog food.
03:42Y'all got zip ties?
03:44Yeah, we do.
03:45Yeah.
03:47Yes, you can.
03:48I just stepped in and asked those guys if they have any zip ties in the store, which they did.
03:54I made a pair of flex cuffs with the zip ties. I put them on the gentleman.
03:58Give me other hands.
03:59Put your other hand back on your back now.
04:02And then we proceeded to take him to the back office and wait for law enforcement to come.
04:08He's still there?
04:09Please call somebody.
04:10I'll call somebody.
04:11Don't you start nothing crazy now.
04:14St. Petersburg police soon arrived and Shredder was arrested.
04:19He pled guilty to petted theft and resisting a merchant and was sentenced to 123 days in jail.
04:26He was also ordered to pay $450 in fines and court fees.
04:30The snakes were safely returned unharmed to their tanks and eventually sold to new owners.
04:37And for any would-be thief casing this pet emporium, Roosevelt has a bit of advice.
04:43Don't steal from the animal house because they will lock the doors.
04:47Everybody in the store will jump on you at the same time.
04:49And if you are gonna steal a snake, you probably shouldn't put it down in front of your pants.
04:55In Florida, several jurisdictions are on the hunt for a person they say is becoming a serial thief and a master of disguise.
05:10Grocery store surveillance video captures someone dressed in a floral dress and a blue bonnet zooming around on a motorized shopping cart.
05:25The individual is seen weaving through the aisles before ending up parked in front of the shelves filled with baby formula.
05:33Once the basket is loaded, the culprit drives away.
05:36Only to return for another round of cans.
05:43Multiple stores are hit over the course of three months.
05:46And when the suspect strikes again, this time in Lee County, the sheriff's office gets the case.
05:52Just who is the bonnet-wearing formula swiper?
05:56An elderly woman doing the dastardly deed?
05:59Detectives soon discover the thief is not who they appear to be.
06:03Employees call us, make a report saying there's a gentleman in disguise hitting the stores and stealing baby formula.
06:12The distinctive headwear becomes the unofficial name of the case.
06:15When I was first assigned the blue bonnet case, I ended up reviewing video cameras to see what kind of leads we had.
06:21He knew where that baby aisle was.
06:24So once he found that, it was just a matter of getting as many cans into his cart or his bag as possible.
06:31Within the two minutes, he was in and out.
06:33I think one of the employees was able to identify him through a six-pack photo lineup.
06:37We were able to get an actual name from an individual who used to go to school with him.
06:42The baby formula bandit is soon identified as 24-year-old John Owens.
06:53Reports say Owens' intent was to resell the stolen formula.
06:57I was able to establish a probable cause and write up a warrant request where he was picked up at a later date.
07:05For all of the incidents, Owens is eventually arrested and charged with two counts of grand theft.
07:10Larceny grand theft, less than $5,000, burglary of a structure and scheme to defraud.
07:16The other charges are dismissed.
07:25Owens is sentenced to one year in county jail, 36 months of probation, and to pay $3,772 in restitution and court costs.
07:37Although the next clip didn't make the top five, it deserves an honorable mention.
07:48Shoplifters are a big problem for American businesses, large and small.
07:55Only about 2% are ever caught.
07:57So it's no wonder 46-year-old Darren Durant Jr. felt brazen enough to take it to a whole new level.
08:04Duran's suspicious behavior had previously caught the attention of a hardware store in Mims, Florida.
08:16But until recently, their security cameras were broken.
08:20So catching thieves was difficult.
08:22One store employee noticed that Durant always left in a red Jeep.
08:27So they took a picture of it just in case.
08:30Then, after an inventory check showed that two crossbows were missing, the store's manager fixed his surveillance cameras and eventually caught Durant stealing the same type of crossbow.
08:42After realizing it was attached to a display, Durant came back with snippers and clipped the 34-inch crossbow from his tethering.
08:56Took it to a less conspicuous aisle.
09:03And stuffed it down his pants.
09:08The store's manager called the Brevard County Sheriff's Department, who ran the Jeep's license plate, matched it to Durant and issued a warrant for his arrest.
09:17About two weeks later, he was tracked to a nearby drugstore and, after a short-lived escape attempt, was arrested.
09:32Durant, who already had multiple theft convictions on his record, bled guilty to a felony charge of petted theft with two or more prior convictions.
09:44He was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
09:47When officers encounter a suspected shoplifter in a parking lot one afternoon in March, they unknowingly end up as players in a very strange game.
10:00A call comes in to Central Dispatch about a potential theft in progress in Palm Coast, Florida.
10:10911, where is your emergency?
10:13Somebody just shoplifted.
10:17Can you give me a description of the subject?
10:21Red-haired with a bandana and black hoodie.
10:25It doesn't take long for Flagler County officers to make contact with the suspected shoplifter, 30-year-old Amber McCann.
10:32How you doing?
10:33Good.
10:34Awesome.
10:35So...
10:36What's up?
10:37Okay.
10:38Is this your car over here?
10:39No.
10:40Alright, would you come over here with me?
10:41Where?
10:42Over in this lane.
10:43For what?
10:44So...
10:45We're doing an investigation right now.
10:46Apparently somebody walked out with a...
10:47Car?
10:48Put it in a random car?
10:49Yeah.
10:50Yeah, that was me.
10:51Well, this is a first.
10:53People usually don't just come up and say, yeah, I did it.
10:56Would you come over by the car with us?
10:57Whose car is it?
10:58What do you mean?
10:59Whose car is it?
11:00I don't know.
11:01Me neither.
11:02Okay.
11:03So where's all your stuff you took out of the store?
11:04I just put it in a random car that was open.
11:06In a random car that was open?
11:07Yeah.
11:08For what?
11:09What do you mean for what?
11:10Because y'all was coming.
11:11Okay, so you just put all the stuff in a random car you didn't know?
11:14Yeah.
11:15It's a game I was playing.
11:16Okay.
11:17Yeah.
11:18You got any ID on you?
11:19No.
11:20Alright.
11:21Makes sense.
11:22What kind of purse did you have?
11:23It's a Michael Kors purse.
11:24Can you go get it for me?
11:25After asking the officer to run an errand for her, McCann elaborates on her so-called
11:28game.
11:29It's a game that we play.
11:30It's called 21.
11:31It's basically like you go and steal all the that you can steal and then you get out
11:32without being caught.
11:33Well, I did it one other time than this time, but I got caught this time.
11:34So now I got to figure out where my purse is and where my merchandise is because now
11:35I got to give all the merchandise back to me.
11:36Well, it's not really a game.
11:37Yeah.
11:38It is a game.
11:39It's a game.
11:40To you, that's a step.
11:41It's fun too.
11:42It's really fun.
11:43Oh, going to jail is fun.
11:44Okay.
11:45Well, I suppose.
11:46Am I going to jail?
11:47It was just weird that she would just nonchalantly be stealing stuff from a store and think it's
12:04no big deal.
12:05No big deal.
12:06Go ahead and put your hands behind your back for me.
12:08Do you have any leg shackles?
12:09Uh, I have a hobble.
12:10No, I don't need leg shackles.
12:11Hey, I have a hobble.
12:12Oh, my God.
12:13You do?
12:14I should have flex.
12:15I was just trying to grab my phone.
12:16You want flex?
12:17We can be flexed.
12:18Yeah.
12:19Just for now.
12:20Y'all going to put me shackles?
12:21Are you serious?
12:22So you got a cast on your arm.
12:23Exactly.
12:24Regular handcuffs.
12:25Regular handcuffs.
12:26So what are you putting shackles on me for?
12:28You got a cast on your arm.
12:29Oh.
12:30It's too big for regular handcuffs.
12:31Oh, okay.
12:32What do you got?
12:33Flexcuffs.
12:34So I'm just going to stick these back here.
12:39After a few minutes in the police vehicle, Amber's story suddenly begins to change.
12:44It's my boyfriend's car.
12:45It's your boyfriend's car?
12:46But my boyfriend doesn't know that I steal.
12:47Okay.
12:48And he doesn't know that I put all this in the car neither.
12:50Okay.
12:51I thought you said it was someone random.
12:53Yeah, I know.
12:54I lied to you.
12:55This was the strangest arrest that I've countered.
12:57While checking the vehicle in question, officers find over $1,000 worth of stolen merchandise.
13:03As well as narcotics.
13:06And so it's game over for McCann.
13:08Before we go any further, you have the right to remain silent.
13:12Okay, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
13:13We still have to read it before we can talk.
13:14Okay, go ahead.
13:15It's like music to my ears.
13:16McCann is charged with trafficking methamphetamine, grand theft, possession of a Schedule IV substance, possession of cannabis, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
13:28She pleads no contest and is sentenced to 86 days in jail, 12 months in a residential drug treatment program, followed by four years of probation.
13:47Jeremiah's Berganza was not only upset when his store got burglarized, he was also confused.
13:54One of my technician guys went into the store really early in the morning, and he called me like 8 a.m. in the morning.
14:01He's like, Jeremiah, somebody has broken, so you gotta come right now.
14:06That was a really bad way of waking up.
14:09We went through the security footage.
14:13I see this guy with a box in his head.
14:22Who uses a box to cover their heads?
14:28He's like struggling to move it around so he can see.
14:32And right at that moment, he dropped the box.
14:35After his box blunder, the alleged burglar exits the store for now.
14:41The first break-in was at 12.30.
14:44So he came back like around 2 to 3 a.m.
14:48The second time, I guess he learned that the box wasn't the best way to cover his face.
14:53He stole 21 phones and $8,000.
15:02So I'm like, I need to catch this guy.
15:06Luckily for Berganza, the alleged burglar's mistake was his good fortune.
15:10Right when the box fell, we saw his face, and we knew who he was.
15:16He was always hanging around in the plaza.
15:19So I started talking to all the business around the plaza and showing them the picture of the guy.
15:26Later that day, Jeremiah's detective work pays off.
15:29The guys from the barbershop called me and was like, the guy that broke into the store is in the liquor store just hanging around, drinking like nothing happened.
15:39Come right now.
15:40So at that moment, I called the police.
15:46Police arrive at the scene and arrest the now unmasked 33-year-old Claude Vincent Griffin.
15:52I did the whole investigation. I found him. It felt really exciting, you know?
16:14Most of the shows that I watch about how people catch the bad guys, you know, paid off.
16:23You got him? Yeah.
16:27Griffin is charged with two counts of grand theft, two counts of burglary, criminal mischief, and resisting an officer without violence.
16:35He pleads guilty and is sentenced to 366 days in jail and two years of probation.
16:41For the number one strange deal, a burglar gets sidetracked and starts cooking dinner.
16:54That's 25-year-old Oscar Sanchez inside Big Slice Pizza in Fullerton, California.
17:00He's broken in after hours and appears to be making himself a pizza.
17:06So we saw the suspect's force entry into the store.
17:19Started looking at some items, rifling through some things.
17:22And then made his way back towards the pizza kitchen where he put on some gloves, grabbed some dough to kind of prepare to make himself a pizza pie.
17:39And begins to kind of knead the dough out.
17:44He attempts to actually throw the air a little bit.
17:48And this was one thing that was definitely surprising.
17:52But despite the video evidence of his crimes, police were missing one key piece of information.
18:04Based off of the surveillance footage, we couldn't identify and tell you exactly who that person was.
18:09It gave us characteristics and physical descriptions.
18:12There's a male, thin build.
18:14He had a dark blue hat on with a sweater and a dark sweater vest, some shorts and black framed glasses.
18:20There were a few tablets taken.
18:23There was like a credit card machine.
18:25Also what was taken were some printers and then keys to a vehicle that belonged to the business.
18:32The unidentified man never finished making his pizza.
18:35Instead, he went outside where security cameras captured him stealing a silver Chevy Spark, the restaurant's delivery vehicle, which soon became the case's most important piece of evidence.
18:46We enter that license plate and the vehicle description into a database so that everybody kind of knows when they contact this vehicle that it's stolen.
18:55And the next day, Brea Police got an alert from a silver Chevy Spark.
18:59It helped the Brea Police Department hone in and ultimately locate that stolen car in the suspect.
19:06Just three days after Big Slice Pizza's burglary, the suspect was arrested at his home in La Habra, California.
19:12They located items that corroborated that he was there. A lot of clothing that matched the description of the subject in the video was at the suspect's house.
19:25That's you, right?
19:26Yeah.
19:27Look at the hat. Look at the jacket.
19:28Where on his register? Where's his drill? Where's the tablets? It's in the car.
19:30All of it?
19:31Yeah.
19:32It was deep.
19:33Although Sanchez admitted to the burglary, the motive behind his illegal pizza making is still in question.
19:40You want to see the video of you making pizza?
19:41Yeah, you do.
19:42Man, you used to make pizza before, or what?
19:43Hell no. I never made pizza before.
19:44I don't know what you're doing, dude.
19:45It looks like a huge pizza taco or something.
19:46Look at the hat. Look at the hat. Look at the jacket.
19:47Look at the hat, look at the jacket.
19:49Where's the jacket? Where's the drill? Where's the tablets?
19:50All of it?
19:51Everything is done.
19:52Although Sanchez admitted to the burglary, the motive behind his illegal pizza making is still in question.
19:59You used to make pizzas before or what?
20:04Hell no. I never make pizzas before.
20:06I don't know what you're doing, dude.
20:07It looks like a huge pizza taco or something.
20:09If I couldn't make it round, I was going to make my deep dish,
20:12but I couldn't find out that.
20:13The stolen car and electronics were all returned to Big Slice Pizza.
20:18So bottom line, Oscar, would you agree you shouldn't break into pizza shops?
20:22Yeah? Or make pizza?
20:25Sanchez was charged with grand theft,
20:27grand theft auto, and second-degree burglary.
20:30He pled guilty, and since he had a prior record,
20:34received an enhanced sentencing of four years in prison.
Recommended
1:36:50
|
Up next
0:30
0:32
46:21
45:10
1:26:28
52:19
1:15:58
1:54:28
Be the first to comment