A ham-handed crook was caught red-handed after fleeing a Brooklyn store with a shopping basket full of meat, the store’s manager told The Post.
The caper kicked off at Meat Palace Supreme at 1811 Church Ave. in Flatbush around 1 p.m. Wednesday, said manager Bruno Theimer.
“He actually had a conversation with me,” Theimer said of the beef thief. “He said he just got his credit card approved so he’s going to buy. I said, ‘Congratulations. Load it up.’ I was joking with him, ‘Load it up.’” He goes, ‘Yeah, I will.’ ”
Video surveillance shows the man, who was wearing a white mask, then filled his basket as promised.
A thief walked out of Brooklyn supermarket with close to $200 worth of meatPaul Martinka“He’s over there picking things out,” the manager said, as he reviewed surveillance footage, commenting that the man took $200 worth of the best beef cuts.
The thief then suddenly sprints out the front door into the street — with a female clerk in hot pursuit, the footage shows.
Paul MartinkaWhen the clerk caught the thief, he cut her left index finger with an unknown object, Theimer said.
Cops chased the thief to a nearby building and arrested him, witnesses said. The clerk was observed receiving treatment on the scene.
Paul MartinkaThe NYPD didn’t immediately provide information about the incident.
A nationwide meat shortage spurred by coronavirus-related staffing shortages at major meat processors has shrunk supply and sent prices up.
