The Stockton 7-Eleven Incident [Latest Update]

https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/stockton-7-eleven-robbery-suspect-beaten-by-clerks-on-video-enters-plea-agreement/

“A robbery suspect who was caught on camera attempting to steal from a Stockton 7-Eleven and was beaten by store clerks in August entered a plea agreement on Thursday…”

I didn’t get a chance to write an editorial about this story 4 months ago, when it first came out. I guess I didn’t care too much about it at the time (I also didn’t know how to write an editorial - credit to Dan for showing me how). But being that I came across this update on the incident, I figured I’d give my thoughts. So for those who haven’t seen or heard of this story, basically, a video was taken of two 7-Eleven store clerks holding down and beating a man who was attempting to steal from the store. The perpetrator was filling a plastic trash can with merchandise from the shelves, when all of the sudden he is confronted by the clerks. One clerk is seen holding down the perp, while the other begins to beat him with what looks like a broom handle.

Here is some of the original video: 

So apparently, the latest update in the story is that the suspect entered a plea agreement today. This is pretty much just an admission of guilt and him acknowledging that he was trying to steal. The suspect also has a prior record of alleged thefts, some of which he has admitted to. 

As for my thoughts on the actual video, based on what I’ve seen and what I know so far, everything seems to be unfolding as it should- in my opinion. The suspect has been charged for their crimes and is going through the legal process. There are a couple reasons why I think this video sparked controversy. First of all, you don’t really hear a lot about business owners sticking up for themselves when faced with injustice these days. And I think that’s because we live in a litigious society. People are sue happy, even the perpetrators and their families (sometimes even bystanders) especially in the state of California. No business owner wants to save their merchandise valued at a couple grand, when they can risk being sued for a couple hundred (grand). It’s no doubt we are all a little softer nowadays, and can’t handle the sight of justice being served with fists. I mean, no one remembers the rooftop Koreans during the LA Riots in the 90’s? Those guys were a living example of utilizing one’s rights to maintain justice, fight chaos, and protect one’s American dream. But I digress.

Rooftop Koreans defending their businesses

God bless the small business owners out there,

Producer Reese