An employee at a King Soopers grocery store criticized the franchise for firing him after he filmed shoplifters brazenly stealing over $500 worth of laundry detergent from a Colorado store.
Santino Burrola became active when a gang of thieves attacked the store in Arapahoe County, Colorado on June 18 and captured video of the crime that has since gone viral.
He chased the group out of the store and filmed them loading countless boxes into their car, even peeling off a license plate cover to track them down.
But his actions allegedly violated the shop’s anti-shoplifting policy, and Burrola was fired on the spot after meeting his union rep.
Now, with two of the three criminals still on the run, Burrola feels he was wrongly convicted, adding, “I was merely registering and exposing criminals.”
Santino Burrola slammed King Soopers for firing him over the shoplifting video, saying “I just registered and exposed criminals.”
The retail worker’s video of the shoplifters quickly garnered attention after he posted it on social media, and it was even shared by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office as the crime continues to be investigated.
Burrola said when he saw the thieves taking heaps of laundry detergent, his “first instinct was to record something.”
As he followed the men out of the store, Burrola was heard mocking the thieves and questioning their daring robbery.
“Really, brother? Do you have to resort to it?’ he said in the video. “The economy is not doing so badly.”
The thugs then attempted to drive away from Burrola while he continued to take footage nearby, resulting in him ripping off a tinfoil to reveal her license plate.
But the store was outraged by his bold attempt, and Burrola said parent company Kroger felt he violated their policy against employee interference in theft.
“Me and the union rep sat down with them and they (King Soopers) recommended the termination and so I got fired that day,” Burrola told CBS News.
“I would never allow criminal behavior to pass, especially if it’s happening right before my eyes.”
Burrola’s video captured the moment the three thieves brazenly stole over $500 worth of laundry detergent from the King Soopers store
The worker’s efforts to uncover the thieves’ license plate led to the arrest of Jorge Pantoja (pictured).
Although King Soopers fired Burrola for his intervention, the effort was not in vain as disclosing the license plate led to the arrest of one of the suspects.
Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Deputy located the owner of the vehicle, who said he loaned it to a friend.
This led them to the driver, Jorge Pantoja, 32, who appeared in Burrola’s video wearing a green shirt. He was quickly arrested and charged with second-order theft and shoplifting.
Pantoja reportedly claimed he picked up the other two men on the street and offered them a chance to make some money.
Authorities are still trying to locate the two suspects, who told the driver their names were Robert and Bugsy. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Investigations Tipline at 720-874-8477 or email [email protected].
Burrola added that he had a hard time seeing the reason for his intervention and said he did it safely, hoping to help track the suspects.
“I posted it on TikTok hoping someone would recognize her,” he said.
He added that he hopes the attention the incident is getting will lead to changes in the franchise and prevent future layoffs from happening again unnecessarily.
“I hope this changes the policy, the manual, or the shoplifting policy and gives power back to retail workers like me,” Burrola said.
In a statement to CBS News Colorado, King Soopers defended the policy that led to Burrola’s firing but declined to comment further.
“We are disappointed with the increase in crime in retail stores and the impact these incidents are having on our employees and customers,” the store said.
“We remain committed to working with local law enforcement to address this issue as safety remains a top priority.”
“We have security measures in place to prevent crime and de-escalate such confrontations to minimize risk to our employees.”
“While we are unable to comment on HR matters, we appreciate our hard-working employees and their safe return home.”
King Soopers was contacted by for further comment.
King Soopers management decided to fire Burrola over the incident on the grounds that he had violated anti-shoplifting policies
The firing of the former grocery store worker comes weeks after a Colorado widow was fired from a gas station after trying to stop a stabber from stealing cigarettes.
Mary Ann Moreno, 75, filed a lawsuit against Circle K last month in response to her firing.
Just weeks earlier, two female Lululemon employees were also fired after confronting a gang of thieves, in what the company said violated its theft policies.
CEO Calvin McDonald said the firing was justified and said it wasn’t worth the risk of intervention as it was “just merchandise”.