SCREENSHOT VIA STARLITE CONVENIENCE VIDEO
A police officer arrests a 35-year-old man after witnessing him using a stolen credit card Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel
A man has been arrested after attempting to use a stolen credit card in front of a police officer – an event captured on video and widely circulated on social media.
The incident occurred Tuesday around 2 p.m., after an officer was called to the area of Yuill Street and Allowance Avenue to follow up on a suspicious person complaint, according to a Medicine Hat Police Service news release.
“The caller provided the description of a male who was acting suspiciously, looking into vehicles, looking around like he was attempting to steal something,” Insp. Brent Secondiak told the News. “He appeared not to be the owner of the vehicle.”
The arresting officer followed the individual in question, who cannot be named until the charges against him are formally sworn, into Starlite Convenience to investigate further.
Once inside, the officer witnessed the 35-year-old male using a stolen credit card.
“The store owner was notified by the credit card company to contact police, which in this particular instance, was as easy as handing the stolen credit card notification over the counter to the officer who was standing directly behind the subject,” the MHPS news release said.
Store owner Clayton Stevens told the News the officer “just happened to be standing at the right place at the right time when someone happened to do the wrong thing,”
Secondiak said the suspect was well known to the arresting officer.
The 50-second video making the rounds on social media, which has no sound, shows the suspect attempt to purchase an energy drink he had already started drinking.
He tries to use the credit card more than once, at one point gesturing to the police officer standing behind him.
The clerk then shows the cop the receipt from the failed transaction before the officer takes the credit card from the suspect and handcuffs him.
The suspect, who was wearing a backwards Blue Jays cap and had a loose cigarette in his ear, put up slight resistance.
Secondiak says the MHPS wouldn’t normally issue a news release on a crime like this, but since the video of the incident went viral they felt the need to put something out.
“Because it was shared publicly, we thought it would be prudent for the public to have some context around the incident itself and why it occurred,” he said.
Stevens says he believes the suspect’s poor decision-making was fuelled by drugs, although Secondiak said there’s no indication of intoxication in their file on the matter.
“You can tell just by the video and how bad he was twitching that he was just methed out of his tree,” Stevens said.
He says whenever the store catches someone shoplifting, they post the surveillance video on their Facebook page.
Stevens said the video received more than 14,000 views before they decided to delete it due to unsavoury remarks by “people playing keyboard warrior” in the comments section.
