A "brazen" ice cream thief was filmed scooping ice cream with his hands behind the counter of a popular Steveston ice cream store on Wednesday afternoon.
In a video posted by Kaitlyn Sieg, daughter of the owner of Pierside Deli, the man was filmed helping himself to ice cream behind the counter at Timothy's Frozen Yogurt in Steveston Village. Her voice can be heard on the video telling the man to leave and that police had been called.
Sieg said a photo of the man was shared by Timothy's owner Bart Wotherspoon to neighbouring businesses and employees following an incident at the ice cream store earlier this week.
On Wednesday early afternoon, an employee of the ice cream shop, who was working by herself, recognized the man, called police and walked to Sieg's store , explained Sieg.
Sieg locked up her store and walked the employee back to Timothy's intending to help the employee lock up until the owner returned. However, the two discovered the man was already behind the counter.
"Without thinking, I just kind of ran over there and I yelled at him 'Hey!' really loud to get his attention," said Sieg, adding he was allegedly rummaging through the ice cream store's counter space.
"He got so startled that he jumped up, reached for a cone... crushed it... and reached for another cone again and started walking to the ice cream case," explained Sieg.
"What confused most of us was the scooping of the ice cream with his hand. That was bizarre."
She said her intention of recording the video was to make him aware he was "being watched and seen" for what he was doing to the local business.
"I wanted him to see that everyone's staring at him so he feels uncomfortable.
"Everyone here is like family. I've grown up with all these people, so helping them was something I knew I needed to do. I didn't think it was anything big."
After the man left, all the ice cream was thrown away for sanitary reasons and the store was closed for the rest of Wednesday.
Despite all that happened, Sieg said the employee at Timothy's "handled it the best way that she could."
"She was brave the entire time. She knew exactly where to immediately go and do. You could see how genuinely scared she was when everything was said and done."
When asked how she felt during the entire incident, Sieg said she was "insanely nervous" but was having an adrenaline rush at the moment.
"After going up close to the guy and taking the video, that's when I realized I was really too close and had to take a few steps back. He came in with a bag and there was a blanket there, and there could have been a weapon."
She added that while she wanted to make sure everyone got a good look at the man to make sure he couldn't get away if he ran, she couldn't justify "getting injured over a $4 ice cream."
According to Sieg, the man is no stranger to businesses along the Steveston Village boardwalk.
He has allegedly stolen a TV remote control and dined and dashed from Shady Island Seafood Bar and Grill before, she added.
"I really do hope that he gets the help he needs because (he) has very bizarre behaviour, and it definitely isn't safe for the people around us to have this type of activities going on."
Timothy's Frozen Yogurt owner Bart Wotherspoon told the News the man had come into the store on two occasions, once looking for a lost phone behind their counter in September and the second time, on Monday, ordering but not paying for his ice cream.
"This latest incident just yesterday clearly shows it's escalating," said Wotherspoon.
"He's getting brazen and it's concerning because I employ students."
Police told Wotherspoon and Sieg the man was apprehended on Thursday morning for "committing another crime."
"So charges are being pressed and the whole case is being dealt with by the Crown," said Wotherspoon.
When asked how this incident has affected his business, Wotherspoon said it is a "cost that we have to absorb."
"It's rather disgusting, what he had done, but, you know, what can you really do?" he said.
He applauds all his staff for being aware of what to do, following protocol and calling the police and was "greatly thankful" for Sieg's help.
"(Kaitlyn) handled the situation incredibly well and I'm glad she got it all on video. It was excellent footage and the cops were able to use that to build a case against him."
This is an incident Wotherspoon has never encountered in all his years in Steveston and hopes no other businesses have to experience it either.
"It's concerning because Steveston is very safe. It's shocking."
The Richmond News has reached out to the RCMP for more information.
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