I used to work part time in a dollar store which was located in a shopping center with several other stores. It was a lame job, but I only needed a part time job while I was going to school, so it fit the bill.
One day working in there, just chilling at the register killing time when I notice this sketchy guy walk in with a hoody and crazy eyes. We got a lot of crazies so I didn't pay him too much mind. He walked straight into the shampoo aisle.
A few minutes later a customer walks up from over at the shampoo aisle and tells me, that guy is stealing shampoo. I'm like huh? So I walk around the counter and just then the guy starts walking towards the door clutching his chest. It was pretty obvious he was in fact stealing shampoo.
We're not allowed to restrain anyone, for any reason - unless they're committing a felony. I told the guy to stop, he didn't. Oh well, I called the police - not that ever did any good, their response time was always a joke.
So after about 30 minutes, I had a line at the register and I somehow missed that guy walking back in. I saw him leaving the store, again clutching his chest. I was like... are you serious? So I stop ringing people out and see what this guy is doing - people were upset, but this was weird to the extreme.
So I look out there and that guy had walked in between two big trucks parked in the middle of the shopping center. I wanted to walk over there and look but I couldn't just walk out of the store. My only option was to call the police, again.
After about another 30 minutes, the police walk in with that guy in handcuffs - and two other cops walk up pushing two Kroger grocery carts FULL of stuff - to the top.
Apparently this guy was just walking in store after store stealing as much as he could, then walking outside and filling up these grocery carts. He had hit 12 stores, mine included, some multiple times. I don't know why he didn't stop after 1 grocery cart, it's not like he could push two by himself anyway.
The real irony is, in the end... and I still can't believe this - the grand total of items stolen didn't equal out to over $1000, so he only got charged with theft. That's it - took hours from both us and the police to track, locate, and retrieve/sort all the stolen items, and in the end he just got a $100 ticket.
TL:DR Watched a guy binge shoplift for over an hour in a shopping center across 12 different stores ultimately filling two grocery carts full of stuff before finally getting caught - where he only got charged with theft because the grand total of items didn't equal out to felony theft.