PALMDALE, Calif. — A four-months-pregnant Ace Hardware employee chased a suspected thief out of the store and wrestled a 46-pound air-conditioning unit out of his hands in the parking lot, according to surveillance video and the store manager.
The footage, captured at the Rancho Vista Plaza location, shows a man in a blue shirt grabbing the boxed unit from a shelf and walking briskly toward the exit. The employee, watching from the registers, immediately followed him outside. As the man tried to load the heavy box into a waiting van, she grabbed it and refused to let go. After a brief tug-of-war, she recovered the merchandise. The suspect fled.
Store manager Carlos Morales, who was not present during the incident, said the employee told him she “acted on instinct.” Morales praised her, saying she “deserves a medal” and noting that adrenaline allowed her to pick up the bulky unit with one hand. He emphasized the store does not encourage employees to confront thieves.
The Ace Hardware opened only six months ago but has already lost about $10,000 to theft. Morales described the problem as weekly, saying thieves typically work in pairs, one distracting clerks while the other grabs merchandise. The store has begun locking many aisles behind cages. “It’s exhausting, to be honest,” Morales said. “Everybody would come and grab. Now, everybody has to wait.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is seeking the two people involved in the attempted theft. The employee was not injured.
A note on comments: Our advertisers enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy on racism, hate speech, and threats of violence. Any comment that crosses that line will be removed and the account permanently banned — no warnings. Debate hard, but keep it civil.
A note on comments: Our advertisers enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy on racism, hate speech, and threats of violence. Any comment that crosses that line will be removed and the account permanently banned — no warnings. Debate hard, but keep it civil.