Would-be meat thief strikes and escapes in Clairemont

The Vons at 4725 Clairemont Drive was the scene of an attempted heist on Monday, November 18, at 1:20 p.m., as a man attempted to steal a shopping cart full of frozen meat.

An alert loss-prevention employee ran after the would-be thief, screaming and forcing him to relinquish the filled cart, which had almost a dozen turkeys and several hams. Although the criminal eluded capture by a few feet, according to a checker who was an eye-witness, the cart was abandoned and the turkeys and hams were returned to the freezer.

San Diego Police Department officers responded within a few minutes with two vehicles. Two officers interviewed the loss-prevention employee, who told them the perpetrator was unarmed. No other information was available.

Customers were overheard discussing the event as “Turkeyball Run.” The checker pointed out that “When items are stolen, someone pays, and it’s you and me, not the thief."