CVS Manager Kills Shoplifter For Stealing Crayons, Toothpaste

POLITICS

» by Danielle Canada May 11, 2010, 9:35am

A Chicago man was killed Saturday after police say he tried to steal crayons and toothpaste at a local CVS store but was apprehended and choked to death by the store manager.

Police have not released the name of the store manager but say the victim was 35-year-old Anthony Kyser a barber affectionately known as “Pops.”

Witnesses tell the Chicago Sun Times that after being caught with the items Kyser was held in a choke hold for several minutes and was yelling,
“I can't breathe! I can't breathe!”

45 minutes later he was declared dead at the city's Mount Sinai Hospital.

A medical examiner has since ruled his death a homicide but Chicago police plan to treat his death as “accidental.”

The store manager has been put on administrative leave while police continue investigating.

Comment Comments 83 Tags Tags: , , , , , ,
  • aleximaq

    Now, damn! It WAS NOT that serious...for real....those types of items you should let me leave with....for real....take his photo and let him go....but to kill the man over crayons and toothepaste????? He will not be getting manager of the year award behind this shyt....

    • k.w.

      it takes breath to yell. so how was he able to yell if he couldn't breathe??

      he didn't deserve being killed over a few piddling items- he deserved to be killed because he was a thief.

      he should not have been stealing in the first place.

    • Superman

      The thief got exactly what he deserved. I say kill all thieves on the spot.

      • Stunned Again

        Have any of you illiterate morons heard of Jean Valjean?

        One again, the American fools buy into the system that oppresses them.

  • Sinister

    Let this be a lesson to shoplifters! Times are that hard that someone will KILL to make sure they keep their job! Cause there is definately someone to take that managers place right now!!!

  • Nurse GiGi

    wow, the sad thing is we know the crayons and toothpaste was probably for his kids.

    • Kiley

      I think it's so sad casue u know it was for his kids. I can't believe the people on here that are saying he deserved to die. Very very sad. :(

  • Mel

    The sad part is the Med examiner (you know a person who went to school to be a expert on theses things) said is was a homicide. And the "CHICAGO POLICE" say it's a accident. Now as soon as he said i can't breathe he should have let him go..I bet if anyone one else did that it would be what it is "MURDER" COLD BLOOD...

  • mememe

    manager needs to be locked up. that was unnecessary.

  • Roe ski Love

    This is the self rightous attitude of people right now. He took the law into his own hands and killed someone over toothpaste and crayons. SMDH> CVS get ready to pay some money to the victims kids, for killing their dad over profits.

  • Frost

    Homicide is not a legal term, it is a medical term. Homicide literally means when one person kills another. It can still be an accident.

    Now, I definately think the manager should have let him go when the man said he couldn't breathe, but why are you so ghetto that you're stealing toothpaste and crayons?

  • Paul

    Don't steal.
    Why is that rule so hard to follow?

  • Drew

    this is manslaughter the dude needs to be locked up for some

  • KEIA

    THAT DONT MAKE NO DAMN SINCE THIS GUY LOST HIS LIFE OVER SOME CRAYONS AND TOOTH PASTE COME ON NOW.....THAT IS SO SAD MY PRAYERS ARE WITH HIS FAMILY.....AND AS FAR AS ACCIDENTIAL THAT SHOULD GET THROWN OUT HE WAS KILLED IF HE SAYING I CAN'T BREATHE THEN SOMETHING SHOULD HAVE TOLD THAT MANAGER TO RELEASE HIS GRIP.

  • akeina

    It is a shame that a man can choke another man over some crayons and toothepaste and only get a paid vacation. I just read how there was an off duty police officer present and she was the one who called the ambulance. But she did not bother to stick around and wait for it. The police did not even release that info at first. It was only after it was leaked. There is surveillance tape of the man pleading for air, while this company creep chokes him and the off duty officer is holding a gun screaming for the man to stop struggling. What is wrong with the chicago police? If they want to get away from the rumors of corruption, this is not the way to do it.

  • KokoBaby11

    Its a damn shame when you have to steal items such as toothpaste and crayons. Its a sign of the times, that things are just that bad. I don't feel like the manager should get away with taking that man's life. He used extreme force to detain him. When the victim said he couldn't breathe the manager should've let him go right then or atleast loosened up his grip. C'mon toothpaste and crayons its not that damn serious. Its not like dude had a gun trying to rob the place.

    • Mike Morman

      How was the manager supposed to know he didn't have a gun? Maybe it wasn't armed robbery but I wouldn't have taken the chance of letting the crook go to find out.
      I would have loosened my grip up to let the fool breathe but we weren't there and don't know whether the guy was trying to continue to struggle with the manager

  • kim

    Thats what his a** get!! i worked at cvs b4 & that Shyte use to erk me when ppl steal....pay for ya Shyte like the rest of society!!!!

    just call that a lesson learned!

  • Mabel

    WTF!!! It's a homicide, manslaughter or second degree murder. This manager needs to go to prison.

  • http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/retail/murdercap-records-ceo-jerome-almon-sues-murder-capital/ Jerome Almon

    I WARNED the civil rights commission and CVS execs that there people would kill someone sooner or later. I just sued CVS last week for putting me in the same position. The store is out of control and many people have been killed this way in stores.
    http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/retail/murdercap-records-ceo-jerome-almon-sues-murder-capital/

  • http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/retail/murdercap-records-ceo-jerome-almon-sues-murder-capital/ Jerome Almon
  • Dontsteal

    Thats one that wont be President

  • LYRICS

    TIMES ARE MORE THAN HARD N' THIS INCIDENT DOUBLE CONFIRMS THAT ISH IS GETTIN' EVEN MORE RUFF!!

    MY PRAYERS ARE W/ HIS FAMILY B/C THIS IS GOIN' 2 BE ANOTHER 'UNJUSTIFIED MURDER'

  • Mike Morman

    Leave it to people from Chicage to call for this poor managers head. The guy was stealing...I don't care what it was... it was wrong to do. The manager caught him and held him down waiting for the police...too many times these idiot thugs are armed and I wouldn't personally take a chance of letting the punk up to see if he was going to pull a gun or a knife. Many times thieves will do anything to get away including kill someone.
    Maybe shoplifters should be taught to give up and lay down when caught and this wouldn't happen. Typical for people to take the side of someone breaking the law because it was just "this" or "that" and miss the point entirely.
    Hope the manager gets "NO BILLED" and can get on with his life

  • karla

    I'VE GOT MY OWN CVS STORY...

  • Rina

    Yes he committed a petty thief crime...but the punishment of death is extreme punishment. Shame on you with snide comments about his "crime"! His was stealing much rather have that on my record that what the manager will have "murderer". Side note think of how many crayons his family will buy when they get through with CVS. Now THAT'S funny!

  • Not Smart

    Today's lesson cl*****: How not to get choked to death in a CVS.

    All together now: "Don't steal stuff."

  • P Nis

    Sorry to say it, but Pops got what he deserved.

  • Nurse GiGi

    You all be knowin that Pops was just choked cuz he was black.

  • realityWRECKER

    i bet you if itz a black man who choked out a white man they would damn sure hit him with murder charge. when a man says he cant breathe you dont continue to choke him out you get the security to help you with the situation i feel the manager should be held accountable its not his job to do a securities work.

    • Bleep It

      WRECKER, you are right, and they always say we (black people) always draw the "race card", but it is what it is.
      "GOD" will punish them, they haven't gotten away with any thing.

  • Nurse GiGi

    What does securities work have to do with it?

  • Nurse GiGi

    I ain't never stealing from CVS again.

  • Sylvester

    CVS is always doign stuff like this.

  • bukky

    that is not an accidental death.Even a moron knows that you dont choke a person to restrain them, you choke a person when you want to kill them!!

  • N

    If he was caught stealing the police will deal with it not the employees.... he still has to go to court and be charged for his crimes. When people start taking matters into their own hands then things will always turn for the worse. There are rules that both individuals did not follow and both individuals need to be held accountable. Only issue is the shoplifter was killed so he cant go to jail, then court and be held responsible for his actions which was the proper way to handle the situation.

  • Bopa

    I know it's hard to be sympathetic for the manager but I've worked retail so I have an idea of what would lead to something like this. Firstly the stores are inventoried and if the shrink (loss) is too high the manager will often time not get a raise on their next review or bonus. They might also be writen up or transferred to a location they don't want to be at. Also I haven't been physically asaulted but I know of managers who have been beaten up just for asking for the merchandise back. If you have these two things over your head what do you think might happen? A manager gets over-aggresive with a shoplifter out of fear of losing their job and also worried that the person might swing on them.

    I think it should be a lesson for people not to steal. I know for a fact that there are programs in Chicago that would haven given him crayons and toothpaste for free if he asked. I don't think he should have paid with his life but I really don't have sympathy for people who break the law and end up messed up.

  • james

    does everything have to be about race? Maybe the manager went too far (maybe not, we don't know all the facts), but some of you are totally excuing pops' CRIME of stealing. Do you excuse his actions because he is black? Because (you *****ume) he is poor? Because he is stealing from the Man? Grow up and take some pride in your race and your situation. Stop acting like someone owes you something.

  • Robert Morris

    We are living in wierd times, the government ripping off tax payer, war, unemployment and the fabric of our society just being ripped to shreds. With that said, this manager was willing to risk his life for a tube of toothpaste and crayons I just don't get it. Lets face it shoplifting is wrong morally and legally, but killing another man is also against the law. In just about every state a person can only use deadly force in self defense, and the threat has to be equal. Was there a security guard on duty at the time, if there was an off duty police officer present why didn't she insist that the manager let the man go and manage the situation? If she drew her weapon at that point the situation was or should have been under control. What was the manager trying to prove, if that shoplifter was allowed to leave would the manager have lost his job? Unfortunately this was a trilogy of errors, 3 people who ALL did the wrong thing and made the wrong decision. This was a situation where a difference could have been made, but everyone involved decided to make thier own rules. Unfortunately one man paid dearly for his decision another man stands to lose everything he and his family owns and a police women may also have her life changed for the worse. No matter how this plays out this manger and CVS will be sued jointly and seperatly and the Chicage Police Department more than likely will also be sued also. Its just a sad commentary of our society as it exists today.

  • NURSEJ

    IF D MEDICAL EXAMER SAYS ITS A HOMOCIDE, DATS WHA IT IS. HOW DARE HE KILL DAT MAN OVER SUMN LIKE DAT. CHARGE HIM WITH MANSLAUGHTER OR SUMN, BUT DERE IS A CHARGE DAT WILL COVER D FACT DAT IT WASNT HIS INTENT...CAUSE HE INTENT AONT GONNA BRING DAT MAN BACK. A DAMN SHAME!!!

  • Soothesayer

    Unless a weapon was drawn, a cvs store manager cannot physically restrain anyone. He can give the culprit verbal warning, and from there call the police. If this guy still has a job next week, something is very wrong. And as a manager, he has to use common sense. He was able to catch the guy, so the culprit obviously wasn't a seasoned thief, a threat for police action wouldve scared him off likely. Stealing is wrong, but had that been me managing, if I saw a grown man taking crayons and toothpaste, I'd *****ume it were for his kids, I'd let him know that I caught him, but I'd give him a few bucks to pay for his things, *****uming he is unarmed. If he had been armed, again, I'd contact police. Crayons and toothpaste are not worth the thief or the employee losing their life, or their livelihood, over.

  • P Funk

    Hey Na Na. NurseJ: Wh*****up wit chu? U think the medicul examer gets to send a fool to the big house? *****. That ain't right. I dun kilt 4 brothas already that the medicul examer thought wuz a killin, but I aint got charged yet. Keep yo mouf shut shorty. WE don't need nun of that talk roun hera.

  • agduck

    awww sheeiiit. dis sum bullsheeit rite hera! brutha done stolt sumpin werf 3 dam dollas an da man had ta choke a brutha out? his chirrins gon be ownin cvs!

  • Afrykah Umoja

    Crayons and toothpaste is valued more than a black man's life... F*** this *****f***in' country.

  • chicagoguy14
  • jiggerbooty

    Afrykah, there are a LOT of things worth more than a thief's life. Be the sorry ***** black, white, yellow, brown or red. Piece of schit thief got what he deserved.

  • ….

    That is just awful. Yeah the man stole but think about it people....toothpaste and crayons. Clearly the man has children and a family and times are extremely difficult out here. That manager needs to be sent to jail. No mercy. That was just wrong.

  • milla

    Omg...u ppl are killing me with this "it was for his kids" BS! Stealing is wrong....So r all of ya suggesting he should have died for more expensive items??? The man was committing a crime!!!! Don't get me wrong,killing is also wrong...but in order to b considered a murder he must have intended on killing him....in the managers case it was an accident! He shouldnt have been stealing anyway....he ain't the only person down on their luck...

  • George

    Cut a brotha some slack. It wuz fer da kidz.

  • Miley Cyrus

    This is just plain AWFUL. Y'all should ALL be ASHAMED. Stealing is WRONG. Killing is WRONG. 2 WRONGS don't make a right!!!

  • billy

    As I sit back and read some of these comments all I can do is shake my head at how we as American people can make excuses when people do wrong. He should have loosened his grip, are u serious? That one breathe of air could have given him the ability to reach for a knife or gun. its unfortunate the guy died but that is a risk a theif takes. For instance if someone beaks into your house while your there should you not take action because they were stealing your ribeye steak out the freezer? It has to come a point and time when we haave to stop babying people who commit crimes and just say you stepped into the unknown and you suffered the consequences

  • Billy is My Hero

    Billy: You nailed it brotha.

  • Miley Cyrus

    Billy:
    You have to admit it was wrong for the manager to kill the guy. Remember, two wrongs don't make a right.

  • alicia evans

    What the hell is wrong with you people? No one deserves to lose their life over crayons and toothpaste. Wal-mart has even stopped prosecuting crimes less than $20 because they understand that sometimes it's not worth it. Not to mention that in most cases, company policy PROHIBITS employees from stopping shoplifters and instead instructs them to notify the police with a description of the person immediately. Maybe I just missed the part of the story where "Pops" used deadly force to try and steal these items, because in that case this would be justified.

    Of course, he was wrong for trying to steal these items, but honestly, it's not worth someone's life. For those of you who think that it's ok that someone has lost a family member/friend because of this incident, you are dumber than a box of rocks.

  • milla

    @Billy: preach!!! i honestly couldn't have said it better myself!!!!! the manager didn't mean to kill him....it was a accident. Every one is so hung up on the toothpaste & crayons...so im guessing they r saying he should have stole more expensive items?!?!
    lesson to be learned: if you are going to steal it better b worth dying for!

  • Miley Cyrus

    How do we know the manager didn't have kids?

  • peoplerstupid

    I worked retail mgmt for years. First of all the manager broke company policy. You are never, never, ever supposed to touch anyone uless you are defending yourself (it's grounds for termination because you are putting company profits in jeopardy because people will sue). Secondly, everything in that store is insured. The man wasn't stealing from the manager, he was taking it from CVS, who really wasn't loosing anything. Next, there was an off duty police officer there with her weapon drawn who allowed the situation to continue. The prosector should charge the manager with manslaughter if nothing else. There have been no reports that the man ever became violent, and it was obvious that he was in trouble. Lastly, don't put anyone in any kind of a hold unless you've been trained to do so. I work with troubled youth and we are taught how to correctly restrain someone so that they can't harm themselves or anyone. This was completely senseless. The off duty officer should be repremanded and possibly even fired. She should of controlled the situation better plus, once again she had her weapon drawn. I hope the family gets the millions, upon millions that they are now due from CVS, and Chicago PD.

  • Zoneswife

    n0w that was just f0ul..if the man said he c0uldnt breath he sh0uld have let him g0..now the victims family sh0uld get FUCCN paid!!

  • http://raptweets.net Jermaine

    Thank you Robert Morris and peoplerstupid! Your comments are the most sensible here. NO THIEF EVER HAS THE RIGHT TO DIE!!! A murderer does, but not a thief. I've been a manager before; I never chased anyone. What bothers me is the ppl saying the thief had the right to die. WHAT?! That's just wrong! And there was a cop present who had her gun drawn, so the manager didn't have to do anything. I don't know how he should be charged, but he shouldn't be allowed to keep his job.

  • Sidney Shaw

    Leave this country if you have a problem with it. Go back to AIDS infected Africa if that is where you want to be. I am so sick of EVERYTHING being made into a black white issue. I am aware Civil rights movement just happened with the last century, but as a adult within this society I am also aware that we are taken for what we present to people, rather certain groups of people want to acknowledge it or not. If you show up for a CEO position in a wife beater, pant BELTED around your thighs, and a big a** chip on your shoulder.....you probally are not going to get the job. If you do not get that job, it had nothing to do with you being black....it was the way you presented yourself!!
    No where in this article do I see them stated the race of the manager. There are proud black men within society that not only take there jobs seriousy, but also see stealing (frickin crayons for godsake) as a sorry a** way of going baout getting what you feel you deserve in this world. Maybe it was a black manager!!
    We are still a capitalist country (at least until Obama is finished with us), which by definition means if you take it apon yourself to work you a** off and set a goal in mind...you CAN accomplish anything you want. The questions is are you willing to put in the work it takes?
    This is a sad situtiation regardless (black, white, purple, or yellow). But race is not always peoples motives....

  • Krispenwah

    He should have tapped!!!

  • Denise

    WOW!!!..I CAN believe the comments I'm hearing because we are so divided as Americans. Race is not an issue in this case. A human being life was taken away from him. Maybe it was an accident, maybe not. I personally do not like thieves, but at the same time would not praise his death whether it was toothpaste or a Jaquar. Petty theft in the U.S.A is not punishable by death. If it were your child or loved one, you would not condone the death regardless of what he stole. Alot of you are insensitive to the family of both parties involved. Freedom of Speech (YES) Ignorance (NO)...God Bless all of you who thinks this guy deserved to die. I praise those of you who know it was a senseless murder.

  • Phylex

    Chicago....Please boycott CVS stores...especially the one where this occured...and if this manager is'nt charged with homicide...i hope the community will band together on this in protest...ridicolous

  • http://www.swaggtalk100.net webmistress

    Not to play the race card, but was the manager white or black?

  • Reva

    I can't believe this! Maybe if Pops had a gun and was holding it to the manager's head, would he have any reason to KILL!! But for some crayons and toothpaste?? Are you joking? GO TO PRISON, CVS MOTHERFCKER

  • robert

    african amaricans are turning this situation into a circus as usual. we don't see or hear the black community leaders talkin about lawsuites and marching to the Daley center about that poor cops death and who he left behind...Do we?The man stold something,so these people should stop trying to justify why he stold and how little money these items costed. Yes, I feel for his family but it's not like the manager woke up and said "I think I'll strangle a black shoplifter this afternoon", so come on already , stop tryin to turn this into something that it's really not.

  • Ange

    The store manager should have left the job up to the police to do; apprehend the thief on legal terms. After all, he was just a CVS store manager and not a police officer or an undercover cop. The store manager does not have the right to run a thief down and use fatal force to keep him down. If the thief had a knife or gun, then the store manager would have been wounded or dead himself too. Very poor judgement on the store manager's part. I doubt this does fall into the category of the "good samaritan" law or any criteria of the CVS store manager handbook. The store manager should be found in some way liable for this thief's death.

  • http://www.swaggtalk100.net webmistress

    That manager must have thought he was some kinda super hero chasing somebody out the store, i mean once the crook if out the story and off the porperty then its pretty much a done deal. What if he had chased him and gotten himself killed instead...over tooth paste and crayons??

  • salami

    you win some you lose some haha

  • JCredible86

    F@ck all yall lames a$ses who cry foul when n!ggaz are the one's doing the dumb *****. His life was only worth the crayons. He deserved it, I bet ya'll take the 10 commandments serious now!

  • JCredible86

    AND PS That did take place in Chicago.

  • Wowsers

    If the tables were turned, and it was a white guy killed, you KNOW it'd be a different story. What a pyscho this manager is; get him off the streets! I'll take a petty thief anyday (stealing crayons for his kids) than this murderer!!!

  • http://www.swaggtalk100.net webmistress

    sad world we live in, looks like its time time to move to another planet.

  • magic

    dis is 4ckery @ its worst killin another man over crayon wot is dis world comin 2 dat manager should b trown in jail period

  • kingofzodiac3D

    Im sure its being treated as a homicide cuz the manager is probably white,weres the proof he was stealing,things will never change for us

  • Me

    Some of you people are so messed up. You talk about how the man commited a petty crime so deserved to die. You idiots! Normal people like you and I commit petty crimes all the time, whether it is taking stationary from the office home or keeping excess money we are not entitled to because some cashier got her calcualtions wrong...now what we deserve to die, I mean in the eyes of the law we are theifs right!. You people here are defending this store because the man took items without payiing, well Im sorry to say but everday these corporate 4ucks are commiting crimes against us. What about the way these big corporate companies are charging us an arm and a leg for something that does not cost hardly anything to make or what about the way large companies are killing workers abroad through slave labour...hmm right no problem there, let them carry on buying their big flash cars with blood money. Theres a thing about putting things into context, he was stealing toothpaste and crayons to provide for his family, and in this day and age these basic items should be given away. This man did nothing wrong in comparasion to what the big cats out there do and did not deserve to die! End of story!

  • http://www.swaggtalk100.net webmistress

    A petty theif should'nt have had to lose his life...which is so ironic he took something small and ended up loosing somethin big.

  • schmoove

    I ADMIT , IT 'S CRAZY FOR SOMEONE TO STEAL SOMETHING SO PETTY AS CRAYONS AND TOOTHPASTE,ITS PLACES THAT GIVE STUFF LIKE THAT AWAY FREE EVERYDAY, BUT NOONE DESERVES TO DIE FOR SOMETHING SO PETTY, THE MANAGER TOOK THAT SH-T WAY TOO FAR AND SHOULD BE PUNISHED FOR HIS ACTIONS. ACCIDENT, YEH RIGHT ' GET READY FOR AL SHARPTON AND THE BOYS. CHICAGO POLICE ARE A BUNCH OF RACISTS PIGS

  • Shot Heard Around the World

    So we should kill ppl who speed (it's against the law and WAY more ppl die everyday because of it than ppl who die stealing crayons)

    Maybe kill ppl who cheat on their taxes (that's stealing and the concensus seems to be death for thieves)

    Or since we are following the 10 Commandments when should we kill all the adulterers or dudes who look at the next dudes wife.

    The fact is we are flawed as humans. So our judgment and punishment is as well. The idots who think this man should have died for stealing should wish the the same punishment on their mother, sons, and self when they commit a crime.

  • numb

    if dude had a job why was he stealing little crap in the first place? pops he had it coming.

  • john

    He was a thief, I'm glad he's dead. His kids are probably better off without him! I'd kill him too if it was my store, let god deal with trash like this.

  • TRailBlazerX

     They always seem to get away with stealing this time we lucked out.

  • Danny

    What the hell is wrong with you people? I wonder if any of you idiots would be glad with flogging to punish the heinous crime of parking in the handicapped *****e.

    Any of you morons actually stopped to think why we don't just kill people for committing petty crimes. Doubt you even think about anything for that matter.

    Petty theft deserves jail/fines, not death. Don't agree? Then Fawk off to the Middle East, where they cut off people's hands for this crap, psychos.