Police identify 'heartless youth' who robbed convenience store after clerk had a heart attack

The Smoking Gun
Thu, 13 Sep 2018 12:32 UTC

© Fox TV

Auburn Police ID suspects who stole from store while clerk suffered medical emergency

Cops have interviewed the man seen in the video and believe that he was not associated with the teens who robbed the store. Investigators are continuing their attempts to locate and apprehend the juvenile suspects.

Police have identified the man and the two teenagers who did not call for help when a clerk collapsed Saturday afternoon inside a Washington convenience store. The youths, however, took the opportunity to raid the cash register and steal merchandise while the stricken man was on the floor.

A surveillance camera recorded the incident at a Shell gas station in Auburn, a city 25 miles south of Seattle. The video, seen above, prompted multiple members of the public to contact police with the identities of the trio.

As seen in the video, a clerk named Zarif appears to argue with one of the teens about items consumed in the store. After the clerk came out from behind the counter, he collapsed into a SmartWater display stand (at the 2:20 mark of the video).

After staring at the prone worker for a few seconds, the man accompanying the teens left the store. The youths opted to start stealing. After removing money from the hand of the fallen clerk, one teen jumped the counter and tried to open the cash register.

The teen, wearing a dark jacket, proceeded to go in and out of the store several times, stealing items on each occasion (and repeatedly stepping over the unconscious Zarif). The teen wearing an orange jacket succeeded in getting the register open and each of the young thieves then tore bills from the drawer.

The clerk remained on the floor for several minutes before another customer arrived and called 911 for help. According to a GoFundMe campaign, Zarif, a married father of three small children, has been hospitalized in critical condition since September 8.

Police have yet to announce the arrest of the thieves (or what charges they will face).

Comment: Fox News reports more on the situation:

The Saturday evening incident began when an adult man walked in with two teens, police said. One of the teens took a pepperoni stick from the counter and starting eating it, then gave a second one to his friend, police said. Police have identified the man and two teens, Seattle's Q13Fox reported on Tuesday.

When the man tried to purchase a different item, police said the clerk tried to also charge him for the two pepperoni sticks. An argument broke out before one of the teenagers offered the clerk a dollar bill, police said. Kelada, a father of three, circled the counter to confront the teens.

Co-workers told the station that Kelada collapsed moments later after suffering a heart attack. Police called it a medical issue.