Earlier this month, a Las Vegas taco shop was robbed in the middle of the night. The restaurant took the video-surveillance footage and turned it into a combination commercial for their tacos and request for help identifying the burglars.
Marcos El Malo • December 24, 2015 1:53 PM
@ramriot
The case you refer to, if the burglars are caught, will be a criminal prosecution. The tongue in cheek statement by the victim won’t have any bearing on the case. If we go to absurd lengths, the restaurant could be prosecuted for creating a situation that encouraged crime, but that wouldn’t let the burglars off the hook. They still committed a crime.
And now I am hungry for tacos. Specifically carnitas tacos.
lessismoreorless • December 24, 2015 2:05 PM
Whoever is on the marketing and advertising team at this place, deserves a pat on the back. That was hilarious and certainly got the criminals a TON OF FACETIME on the internet. Fantastic!
Geoffrey Kidd • December 24, 2015 2:21 PM
Talk about “When life hands you a lemon…” I’m sure they’ll upgrade the back entrance. And I hope they get a chance to give those guys the tacos they so eagerly sought. After all, tacos can be passed through iron bars.
Jim • December 24, 2015 2:31 PM
BTW, what sort of place leaves cash in the checkout draw after hours.<<
After watching the video, there’s no evidence that they did leave any cash in the registers. The thieves made off with the entire cash drawer holder, don’t know if they actually got any cash.
Any reasonably smart store owner or manager would drop all the cash into a safe or remove it from the premises at night.
James Sutherland • December 24, 2015 3:31 PM
@Jim: I think that was the point – it’s so obvious a precaution, what thief would be dumb enough to expect the cash drawers they stole not to be empty at 3am? That’s why @ramriot was calling them dumb criminals.
Bill • December 24, 2015 4:33 PM
The store confirmed that yes, the cash register drawers were empty.
Andrew • December 25, 2015 12:31 AM
Omg, one of the funniest video last week… spoiler alert: “someone teach this guy how to throw a rock” :))
A Nonny Bunny • December 25, 2015 1:17 AM
Clever. Even if the thieves don’t get caught, their friends will forever tease them with their unremitting craving for taco’s.
Now, if they do get caught, I hope the restaurant will go the extra mile and bring them some free taco’s, just to rub it in.
You have to hand it to the thieves though, that even though they weren’t smart enough to figure out there was no cash in the registers, at least they wore gloves.
kingsnake • December 25, 2015 7:32 AM
@James Sutherland Thieves are thieves precisely because they are stupid. (The smart ones go into banking and government for a much better risk:reward ratio.)
Curious • December 25, 2015 1:04 PM
I thought it was common practice to leave empty cash registers open. 🙂
Dave • December 26, 2015 9:40 AM
off-this-topic, but might be news
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/12/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-data-breach-president-debate/
Slime Mold with Mustard • December 27, 2015 10:55 AM
Actually, it is common practice in the retail industry to leave $40 USD in the open register drawer overnight. The idea: 1. To help prevent a frustrated burglar from becoming a psychotic vandal, causing thousands in damage. The $40 will let him get his heroin. 2. Since the drawer is open, he has no reason to take the register, which may cost a couple thousand itself (Unless he sells cash registers, which is not common).
wander • December 28, 2015 5:28 AM
Queue the wave of security-video-footage in place of advertisements, and rising popularity of police PSAs that are only video footage of victimless crime taken from the useless street surveillance cameras. To prove they work. For the greater good. Since nobody ever watched them to begin with. But here’s some crime – or even more marketable – random street humor. If you see something, say something. Call: 555-1212
Anonymous Cow • December 28, 2015 11:45 AM
For those commenting on why cash drawers are not left open at night: most modern day PC-based/network-based registers are programmed to make noise if the drawer is open over one minute; they might also be programmed to send an email if it’s still open after another minute. If this store was a mom-&-pop they might boot down/power down at night but if this store is a chain or franchise the registers will be left on for the IT folks to maintain/upgrade/archive at night when the store is closed.
Slime Mold with Mustard • December 28, 2015 8:10 PM
@ Anonymous Cow
“For those commenting on why cash drawers are not left open at night: most modern day PC-based/network-based registers are programmed to make noise if the drawer is open over one minute”
You have described a part of how I set up our system. There are real limits on what a thief can get from hacking. We started air-gaping around 1990.
SENSITIVE
We actually alert if register drawers are open or not open. YEAH, we call the cops and/or me.
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ramriot • December 24, 2015 1:39 PM
BTW, what sort of place leaves cash in the checkout draw after hours. Certainly new contestants for ADC (America’s Dumnest Criminals). Also, by putting the line on their ad:-
“We accept full responsibility for what our Tacos make people do”
Would they be undermining their own case should these Perp’s get caught.