SAN DIEGO -- Despite catching a would-be thief red handed in the store and on surveillance camera, the owner of Fun Bike Center is frustrated that police officers let the guy go without charges.
Gusman says his employees noticed a man wandering about the store Friday evening. They watched as he grabbed two motorcycle helmets off a rack and sprinted towards the entrance as alarms went off across the store.
The surveillance video shows a salesman tackling the unidentified suspect before he could get outside. Other employees helped hold him down until police arrived.
When police arrived Friday, they didn’t charge the thief.
Lt. Scott Wahl says detectives are now investigating the case.
"We're still investigating it and we do wanna help." Wahl said. "Certainly, if someone is trying to steal, we want them to be held accountable for it. But we've got to make sure we do it the right way and that we have the elements of the crime that we're charging."
The evidence will include the helmets, the video and the injuries. But, the fact that the man never made it outside makes proving "intent to steal" difficult.
The man was taken down inside the store and defense could use that as a lack of evidence for intent to steal.
