Most people choose not to buy an item at the store when they see that they don’t have enough money or consider the price to be too steep for what they would be getting. But there are individuals who can’t bear the thought of not having that item, so they take it anyway, but skip the paying for it part.
If you are stealing, then you should be prepared to be caught and face the consequences. It’s never pleasant, but at the same time, it’s not pleasant for the shop owner to get their merchandise stolen either. So this one shop owner chased a thief on the bus to catch her, filmed the process and shared the satisfying ending of the story.
More info: TikTok
Business owner Sophia didn't go easy on a woman that stole from her shop and actually chased her
Image credits: itssophiamilan
Sophia Milan is a small business owner from Houston, Texas where she has a store called Erotic Cabaret Boutique selling costumes, lingerie, rave wear, swimsuits and adult-only items.
Recently, she had an incident when her employee noticed that a woman left the store without paying for the items she put in her bag. Luckily, the employee saw the bus the thief got on, so Sophia jumped in her car to chase the bus and take a ride confronting the crook.
Image credits: itssophiamilan
Sophia's employee noticed a woman stealing items from the store and saw which bus she took to leave
Image credits: itssophiamilan
The woman sat down next to the thief and pulled out her phone to capture the interaction on record. She loudly announced for the whole bus to hear that the woman she was sitting next to came into her store and stole some items. This must have been a sight for the unknowing onlookers and when Bored Panda reached out to Sophia, she told us the the other passengers "were all laughing and some were telling [her] 'good for you!'
The thief tried to cover her face with her hands and avoid being filmed, as many people who know they did something wrong do, but Sophia grabbed them to pull them down and get a clear shot of the shoplifter's face. Then Sophia proceeded to tell the camera that she would be following the thief to her home because she promised to pay for the items she took. As it turns out, "she did not try to pay, or give them back even after we told her to," according to Sophia.
Image credits: itssophiamilan
Sophia hopped into her car and drove to meet the bus and confront the thief
Image credits: itssophiamilan
While on the bus, Sophia was curious what the woman decided to take illegally from her shop, so she went through her purse to see what was in there. There lied over $600 worth of stuff. The businesswoman was exasperated when the shoplifter gave her a look indicating that she considered the shop owner crazy and was taking upon herself the role of the victim.
From what we can see in the video, it seemed that the lady was acting pretty calmly considering the circumstances and didn’t say much, but Sophia assured us that actually, "She wasn’t calm, she was in shock from someone finally holding her accountable for her actions."
She announced to the whole bus that she was following this woman home because she had stolen from her shop
Image credits: itssophiamilan
Image credits: itssophiamilan
One of the last clips of the video shows the woman getting arrested by the police. We also find out from the description of the video that the police found “$300 worth of [items from] Banana Republic, stuff from Target, and Adam and Eve.” It was actually her employee who she went on the bus with that called the police.
The video went viral online and is approaching one million views. Since it spread around the internet, Sophia was reached out to by other 5 small local businesses saying that the same woman stole from them too, so it seems she has quite a serious stealing problem.
Sophia checked the woman's bag and was met with a look saying that she was crazy for behaving this way
Image credits: itssophiamilan
Although in general, the woman seemed pretty calm, only her facial expressions and body language betrayed how uncomfortable she felt
Image credits: itssophiamilan
Image credits: itssophiamilan
Commenters unanimously supported the business owner because while we can understand people who steal food or other life necessities because they truly don’t have money to buy it and they won’t survive if they don’t commit this crime, it seems that this is not the case for this lady. Sophia’s shop doesn’t sell any necessities; actually, her shop specializes in things that are meant to be used for fun. The shop owner also revealed to us that "She’s not some poor woman. She’s a paralegal with her own jewelry company. She’s also just a criminal."
People who’ve seen the video admired Sophia’s courage and how she didn’t hesitate to defend her business, understanding that it could have turned out to be very bad if the thief had a gun or was mentally unstable. However, the shop owner told us that she wasn't actually scared of it, "We knew she didn’t have any weapons on her and people were with me."
In the end, the woman was arrested and the police found even more stolen items from other shops
Image credits: itssophiamilan
Image credits: itssophiamilan
You may question Sophia’s behavior, how moral it was to follow a person home, go through their things in their bag and touch them when they clearly expressed they didn’t want their things and themselves to be touched. But you have to admit that chasing after a thief, confronting them like that and seeing them arrested is every business owner’s fantasy.
Also, Sophia is certain that she didn't do anything illegal. The shop owner explained to us, "People have accused me of 'stalking, doxxing, and assaulting her.' Stalking is a repeated surveillance of someone and as you can see, this was a one time thing. Following someone to get my belongings back is not stalking. Doxxing is publishing private information on the internet, but as you can see, none of her private info is anywhere. As for assaulting, meaning a physical attack, no, me moving her hand down is not assault."
You can watch the chase in the video below
Would you have been as brave as Sophia was? Do you feel that the shop owner stepped out of line with her behavior or do you think the woman who stole from her shop deserved to be treated the way she was? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
People in the comments were glad justice was served and were astounded at how brave the shop owner was
