PALMDALE, California (KCAL, KCBS) -- Jarring security footage captures the moment a pregnant employee chases a would-be thief out of an Ace Hardware in Palmdale, then wrestles a stolen AC unit away from them. The woman who fought back was fed up with recurring theft at her store. This is the model of the AC unit, not easy to pick up, and it’s actually very heavy," store manager Carlos Morales said. “She had a lot of adrenaline. She picked it up with one hand.” Morales said they never encourage employees to intervene during thefts, but many of his employees were tired of weekly crime sprees at their Ace Hardware. “It’s exhausting, to be honest,” he said. The store opened just six months ago but has been targeted by thieves nearly nonstop. As of September, they’ve lost $10,000 worth of stolen merchandise. They’ve resorted to locking many aisles in cages after the thefts became too common. “Obviously, we started with no cages,” Morales said. “Everybody would come and grab. Now, everybody has to wait.” Investigators believe the thieves are traveling from out of town. All Morales can do is file a police report after losing so much product. “It’s never about the product,” Morales said. “It’s never about the money. It’s principle. It’s values.” Theft is so prevalent in the shopping center that Morales gets together with other businesses every month to share photos and security footage to warn and hopefully protect other stores. By Hunter Sowards.
