The son of an elderly Home Depot worker who was fatally attacked late last year is pleading for something to be done about a growing scourge of retail theft, ABC News reports.
“There has to be consequences in my mind, and the consequences have to fit the crime,” Jeff Rasor told the network’s “Nightline” program in an interview that aired Thursday. “I can’t imagine that any piece of equipment in Home Depot is worth a life.”
On October 18, Rasor’s father, Gary, was shoved to the floor after he approached a man taking three pressure washers worth more than $800 at a Home Depot in Hillsborough, North Carolina, according to WRAL-TV.
Jeff Rasor said his father, an Army veteran, was just going to ask the man for a receipt. Investigators determined that the attacker was a serial shoplifter.
The 83-year-old died from his injuries on December 1. “He loved working at Home Depot,” Jeff Rasor told “Nightline” about his father.
Additional Reading
The grieving son is now urging for more vigilance in stores and a crackdown on shoplifting.
Scott Glenn, Home Depot’s vice president of asset protection, said the company has seen a double-digit increase in theft at stores in recent years.
“More and more we’re seeing the risk being brought into the stores, and people being hurt or people even being killed in many cases because these folks, they just don’t care about the consequence,” Glenn told “Nightline.”
In April, a Home Depot worker in California was shot and killed after confronting a shoplifter. A 31-year-old man and his 32-year-old girlfriend have been charged with murder, robbery, child endangerment and conspiracy in connection with the slaying, The Sacramento Bee reports.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Feature Photo: Gary Rasor/Clements Funeral & Cremation Services]
