Alleged thief in viral 7-Eleven beatdown video stole 2 other times, workers probed for assault: cops

A suspected shoplifter beaten by two 7-Eleven clerks in a viral video allegedly stole from the identical California location not less than twice earlier than the staff took him down, police stated as they revealed the employees are beneath investigation for doable assault.

Stockton police shed new mild over the weekend on the July 29 confrontation during which the pair of employees used a stick with wallop a person who tried to swipe a trash can filled with cigarettes.

The footage of the beating, which rapidly went viral final week, confirmed one worker holding down the suspect whereas his coworker whacked him virtually 25 instances — whereas the alleged robber screamed in agony.

The encounter was not less than a day within the making, in response to cops.

The suspect went behind the counter and threatened to shoot an worker if he tried to cease him the day earlier than at round 3:40 a.m., police said in a news release.

He allegedly stole a number of packs of cigarettes and different gadgets earlier than fleeing.

The subsequent day at round 12:27 a.m., the worker informed police the identical suspect once more entered the chain enterprise and demanded cash whereas simulating having a handgun, cops stated.

When the worker refused, the suspect as a substitute grabbed meals with out paying and fled once more.

Lower than three hours later, the suspect got here again with the trash can and commenced throwing tobacco merchandise inside it earlier than fed-up staff grabbed him.

Stockton police had been initially confused by a report of an assault and a report of tried shoplifting earlier than they put the incidents collectively.

“The male didn’t know if he had been assaulted,” Stockton police stated. “The male was then transported to an space hospital to be handled for a grievance of ache.

“On the time this was reported, Officers couldn’t verify if the male was a sufferer of an assault, or a suspect associated to the sequence of robberies on the 7-Eleven.”

The footage that emerged on social media Thursday tied the alleged robberies and the suspected assault to the identical incident, police stated.  

Within the video, the suspect was seen strolling behind the shop’s register tossing fistfuls of tobacco merchandise inside a big trash can as an off-camera employee pleaded for him to cease.

Because the suspected robber tried to shove previous one employee, the worker dragged him to the bottom, simply in time for his co-worker to begin beating him with a stick, the footage exhibits.

The person who captured the second on video informed one native station believes the beating may’ve crossed a line.

“It got here to a degree the place it obtained a bit extreme so I used to be type of like, ‘Yo, you realize, we obtained to sit back, we obtained to calm down,’” buyer Louis Benton told ABC 10.

“These two employees who protected their retailer, they did a brave act. I consider that if I wasn’t there that man would most likely be extra damage than he was.”

Benton, who was inside the shop to get gasoline, stated he posted the footage as Instagram tales earlier than another person grabbed the footage and pieced it collectively.

“I used to be shocked, in order that’s why I actually didn’t say something within the video,” he stated.

Stockton police stated after the division collects extra proof, it would flip over the findings of the theft and assault investigations to the San Joaquin County District Legal professional’s Workplace for overview.