Читать книгу Further Adventures of "Dirty Joe" Callihan - Joe Callihan - Страница 4

In this book I deal mainly with shoplifting incidents where I participated in catching the thief or thieves. I must admit for the most part, I usually got satisfaction in seeing someone wanting to steal rather than pay (as I had to do) for items, have to pay a fine, or do time in jail. There were exceptions, as you will find in my stories. But I had no respect at all for a thief. What redeeming quality do they offer? Would I ever desire to be like them? NO! NEVER! Yet not meaning to be judgmental, there, but for the grace of God, go I.

So to begin my stories I will tell of one who thought it was wise to want to become a thief. He thought he had learned all there was to know. But thanks to me, he got some jail time to realize there were a few things he still did not know. I was working in the Appliances Department of a local Kmart. I was standing at the counter going over some paperwork when I noticed how intensely I was being watched.

It was a young man in his mid twenties who was walking past in an aisle about ten feet away. As he walked his head was turned to the side, observing me, obviously trying to determine if I was watching him. So naturally I looked away. I immediately looked down again at the papers in front of me, thinking to myself, “No, I’m not watching you, go ahead and steal the store.” I wanted him to feel comfortable, so as to not stop his intentions.

He was wearing a long white tee shirt, which was outside his pants. I asked Mary, the lady working with me, if she would watch the department for awhile. I told her I had someone suspicious I needed to follow. She agreed, and I went to work. As he made his way toward the front of the store, when he looked behind, there I was. So he began to go in circles. I was able to spot one of the Assistant Store Managers and pointed out my suspect, using rapid movements of my pointing finger. Now the Assistant joined me in watching, only from a front angle.

As our guy at last headed toward the door, at this, the Assistant made a bold move, especially since neither of us had actually seen him make any effort to conceal anything. He walked up to the guy and simply yet boldly asked, “Do you have something under your shirt that belongs to us?” As an answer, the guy opened the front of his shirt and produced two cassette tapes that were tucked into his belt. He was trying to smuggle them out, without paying.

The assistant and I took him back to the security office where my friend, Bill Wilson, head of security was working. The Assistant, after having explained to Bill what had just transpired, left the guy with Bill and me. I’m so glad I was there! Here’s where it gets good, THE INTERVIEW!

Having read him his rights and the Assistant having called the police; Bill began asking the usual questions. Much to my surprise the guy cooperated.

He readily offered answers to each question asked. But the one which I found most intriguing was the answer he gave as to why he had chosen to try stealing from us. Bill and I could not believe our ears! It was because he had done part time security work for Zayers, another discount store which had recently gone bankrupt. (Hiring a guy like this for security, no wonder they went bankrupt)!

Bill asked the natural question to follow that answer. “After having worked in security, and seeing shoplifters get caught day after day, what would make you want to do something so stupid? His answer revealed his stupidity. “Because I thought I had learned what not to do to get caught.” Then looking at me he quickly asked: “Where did I go wrong? How did you spot me?”

“I’m not going to tell you, I said, because I’m afraid you might think you’ve learned something. But I will tell you this. It was stupidly obvious what you were doing. The next time you’re in a store and feel like stealing, I want you to worry about getting caught. Because I can assure you, you will!” What a sad look came over his face, as the policeman came to take him away. He learned he was not as smart as he had thought he was. His car was searched while being interviewed, and six more tapes were found under the front seat, with the long plastic protector’s still on.