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McCook Gazette
Editorial

Store owner offers options to shoplifters

Friday, May 30, 2008
He delivered a dose of cornfield justice.

You have to hand it to Gabe Fidanque of Durango, Colo.

Tired of putting up with about $1,000 worth of shoplifting a month at his liquor store, Fidanque hit upon a plan.

Every time he caught a shoplifter in the act, he gave him or her a choice: Give me one of your shoes, or I'll call the police.

Some of the thieves did, and most of them were too humiliated to come back and demand their shoes. The Associated Press story didn't indicate the result, but we bet word got around, and shoplifters soon decided to ply their trade elsewhere.

Soon, Fidanque heard from the police.

Were they calling to congratulate him? Ask him to lead a seminar for other shopkeepers?

Not quite.

Unless he stopped demanding footwear from the shoplifters, he himself would be charged -- with a felony, in comparison to the shoplifters themselves, who would usually face only misdemeanors.

What he was doing, Durango police said, was robbery. "I would suggest that he find a different option that doesn't involve giving up property," Capt. Micki Browning of the DPD said. "What's the difference between him saying 'Give me $20 and I won't call the police' or 'Give me your shoe?"

Truthfully, we'd like to sit on a jury when the shoe-snagging shopkeeper faced felony charges. Frustrations like he faces are the type that make citizens want to resort to what one former local county attorney used to refer to as "cornfield justice."

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  • I'm not sure, but, sometimes I think, our court system is of the mind that 'if you do not want someone to steal your merchandise, then do not put it on a shelf with such easy access. Hmmmmm!

    A number of years ago, a pawn shop owner, tired of being burgled, on a regular basis, in the Denver area, set up a shotgun trap, hooked it to the door, and yep, you guessed it, a young man entered the door, without entitlement, nor key, and was shot. The store owner ended up in jail, and the young thief ended up with everything the store owner owned, plus a bunch.

    Justice does not always prove legal. Hmmmm!

    The law, I believe, in this case is correct, as the owner was, effectively, reverse-black-mailing the thief. Go-figure.

    Just a thought.

    -- Posted by Navyblue on Fri, May 30, 2008, at 4:36 PM
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