Further details have been revealed in an updated report on the alleged thief who was chased down by Costco employees Monday afternoon.
The incident involved a few Costco employees who chased down and detained a male suspect who allegedly stole from the store.
TurlockCityNews.com’s original story on the incident reached over 30,000 people on Facebook, receiving over 370 interactions, including likes, comments, and shares from the TurlockCityNews.com Facebook page. With such invested interest in the story, TurlockCityNews.com wanted to provide an update to our readers.
According to an updated report from Turlock police spokesperson Officer Mayra Lewis, it was confirmed that the suspect, now referred to by Turlock police as Ravsagar Singh Atwal, 24, allegedly committed the theft that occurred at Costco located at 2955 N. Tegner Rd. Lewis also confirmed that the alleged suspect who ran from the store was allegedly attempting to steal a watch.
Despite speculation on whether Costco allows its employees to chase and detain suspects, it is unknown whether the employees were reprimanded, as Costco had no comment on the incident when contacted.
Readers had varied responses to the employees’ action to “catch” the alleged thief, from applause for quick thinking to criticism for potentially risking their own safety in chasing down a suspect who could have been armed.
Turlock Police Department confirmed however that Atwal did not carry a gun.
As reported in our original story, multiple Costco employees allegedly witnessed the theft, and chased Atwal across North Tegner Road, to the area between Cool Hand Lukes and Candlewood Suites where they were then able to catch the suspect and detain him until Turlock police officers arrived on scene.
Contrary to some witnesses’ disagreement though, Turlock police also confirmed that the call went in to Turlock Police Department at 5 p.m. and they arrived at 5:09 p.m., leaving the response time within 10 minutes.
Atwal was arrested for grand theft, which left some readers questioning that report, but this also was confirmed with the Turlock Police Department. Grand theft is a degree of theft — a rank assigned to the severity of the crime. In many cases, grand theft is assigned to those crimes associated with theft of property exceeding $950 for the State of California. The statutory amount varies from state to state, but according to California Penal Code Section 484-502.9, the statutory amount for the State of California is $950. There are also many other instances for grand theft.
