Jimmy Johns Thief Robs Restaurant In An Incredibly Low-Tech Way

Jimmy Johns is one of biggest sandwich restaurant chains in the United States. Started in 1983 by James John Liautaud, it has its headquarters in Champaign, Illinois, and is present in about 2,000 locations. That said, it faces numerous challenges in the dynamic American environment, including security. And lately, it has suffered numerous problems related to this as with any other restaurant.

Just recently, a customer with a unique skill set decided to use it in robbing the restaurant. In a video released by Jimmy Johns, the client could be seen handing a $50 note to the cashier when ordering a 1.77 dollar meal. However, upon being handed his change, he, in one swift move, put a note into his pocket before pretending to count his money and then put the cash on the desk claiming that the change given to him was incorrect. It is alleged that he got angry with the employee for giving him the wrong change, which amounts to less than $20.

Although he was given the aforementioned amount, the footage released later after careful scrutiny revealed that it was a calculated move by the customer. The incident occurred in Kalamazoo County.

According to Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller, “It’s the old magician hand, look at this hand, don’t pay attention this hand, and that’s one of the techniques, the short change artist will use to get more money out of a cashier.”

He also added that it was a common trick by scammers to get money out of unsuspecting cashiers, saying the following about the man in the surveillance video.

“He just does it all in one motion, as soon as she hands him the cash, he’s peeling something off, puts it right in the pocket, and pulls both hands back up to say hey look… There was only one 20 in the drawer, so she knew she gave it, she knew it went somewhere… This cannot be the first time, very deliberately, he was on his phone, he was distracted, he was very angry with the employee when she tried to count the money back to him, but there was only one 20 in the drawer,”

According to Kelli Crandell the restaurant owner, the environment was ideal for a con, and the man may have made several assumptions about the cashier before carrying out the theft. The following was his statement.

“And that is another one of the techniques that short change artist will use. You hear loud music in the background, very distracting, another cashier, maybe he looked at somebody who is not as experienced; all of these things are part of what they do.”

Check out the surveillance footage here. Speaking about Jimmy Johns employees being victims of theft, one of the franchise’ employees recently had his car stolen. According to WGNS Radio, the theft of a silver Honda Civic belonging to a Jimmy Johns driver was reported earlier this month, and soon after, it was spotted in the College Grove Apartments area. The following is an excerpt of the report.

“When trying to stop the vehicle on East Clark near Highland Avenue, a white male driver and black male passenger ditched the car and fled on foot. Isaiah Biles, age 18 of Blaze Drive, was apprehended in the Evergreen Cemetary. The other suspect, 20-year old Charles Phillips the 2nd of Litton Avenue in Nashville, was arrested while hiding behind a home on Winfrey Drive.

While being questioned, Biles admitted to stealing the car and stated Phillips was in on it as well. Phillips refused to comment without an attorney.”

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