Caught on Camera: The Two-Man Crime Caper at Home Depot

Is this occurring right in front of my eyes?

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

They came rolling out of the store like every other customer. A large man and a small man walked out of our local Home Depot, pushing a cart with a storage crate inside it. They both had COVID masks on. No big deal. People still wear those from time to time.

It was weird that an employee was following them about 15 yards back, videoing them with his phone. The closer the masked men got to their vehicle, the more they picked up their speed.

Now, I have been naïve MY WHOLE LIFE. Yes, I’m a simpleton. My first thought (if I’m being honest and am not worried about looking stupid) was -

They are recording something for the store.

(NOTE: I am always honest and I got past the embarrassment of looking stupid in front of people I didn’t know a long time ago.)

Now, I know that most people don’t produce high-quality videos from their phones, but it’s happened before. In 2015, Bentley shot a commercial with an iPhone 5S.

Corporate may have wanted to record a couple of happy, cautious customers walking out of the store to their car. They have a lovely crate they can’t wait to show off to their friends, but they didn’t want to carry it, so it was still in their cart.

A car pulled into the parking spot beside us, and the husband walked around his truck to let his wife out of the vehicle. Opening her door, he says, “Those guys are stealing something.” That was not my first thought, but it made sense.

I shared that with my wife, who was waiting for me to get into our truck. I said, “Hopefully, the employee will be able to get the license plate of the car as they drive off.”

These men quickly grabbed the crate (one on each side) and threw it into their trunk. Leaving the cart where it was, they hopped into their vehicle. They had their license plate blacked out. My wife called them professionals. I was thinking they had thought this through.

The other lady kept saying, “How awful is that!” I agreed with her.

Again, I don’t get out much, but I was heartbroken. I watch a lot of television, and I know this happens all the time, everywhere! My wife, the brave one in the family, says, “Should we follow them?” I responded, “No, what if they start shooting back at us out their window?”

I didn’t immediately realize the men were stealing, but I was quick to go straight from shoplifting to murder. We didn’t follow them, and we lived so I could share this tale.

Where should I go with this saga? Let’s examine the characters.

Me

The naive shoplifting-witness-virgin, who had no idea what was going on thinks, “Oh, that employee is following those men out of the store, videoing them on his phone. That’s cool. I wonder what promo video they are shooting today?

They may be recording a few run-throughs to prepare the storyboard for the video. Good thinking! They will save time once the top corporate brass gets in a room to watch this video!”

The truck couple

The man was a gentleman because he was walking around the car to open his wife’s door for her. He might also have been a redneck if his passenger door could only be opened from the outside.

He knew right away what was going on. Kudos to him for having street cred! He’s a man of experience and knowledge of our rural inner-city! The woman was appalled at these men’s actions. “Shame on them for taking items that don’t belong to them. There ought to be a law against that!”

The thieves

Ernie (not his real name): “Man, pushing this cart is hard because this load is so heavy. Good thing the parking lot slopes down toward our car.” Bert (not his real name either): “This mask is hot, and it’s itching my face!”

Ernie: “We need to pick up the speed. Dude is videoing us, and we don’t need anyone else showing up.” Bert: “We’ll be okay. I took Karate in sixth grade and made it up to my green belt. I can handle it. Ernie: “Pop the trunk and help me with this crate.”

Ernie and Bert hop in the car and take off. Ernie: “Make sure no one follows us out of this parking lot!” Bert: “On it. If they do, I’ll just pull this pistol out of the glove box and start shooting at them!”

Store employee

“These guys left the store without paying for their merchandise! I’d better get a recording of this.” He pulls out his phone and follows them out of the store. He thinks: “This phone rocks. I’m getting this in high definition! Honestly, they are not paying me enough to be doing this.”

The thieves load their car, hop in, and take off. The employee thinks, “Maybe I’ll get a good shot of their license plate. Nope, they’ve got it covered up. I hope a police officer sees this plate before they manage to take off the black-out from that plate.”

My wife

“Why is Mike taking so long to get in the truck? What is he looking at, standing there like a big goober with his mouth open?” I tell her a robbery is taking place. She turns to watch the fiasco happening in the next row behind our truck.

We all realize they have their license plate blacked out. “These guys may be professionals,” she thinks, and the first thing she says to me as I get into the truck is, “Do you think we should follow them?” I answer her, and we leave the store for home.

What now

This robbery wasn’t the first one that has taken place close to me without me knowing about it. At least in this case, I was in another part of the restaurant.

I hope the police caught the thieves and the merchandise was returned to the store. I also hope this event doesn’t encourage my wife to join the local police force to do her part in stopping crimes like this.

My wife and I can’t stop the crimes happening all over the world. We can use this experience to encourage us to love more. Humanity is messed up. There are those around us who just need to know they are not alone and someone else cares about them. 

Loving others may not stop crimes from happening all around the world, but the encouragement some receive from knowing other people care about them may help them make better decisions. We don’t realize the power a loving gesture has on someone who needs it.

Love is cure,
Love is power,
Love is the magic of change.
Love is the mirror, of divine beauty!
Rumi