Dean Hicks said he was pepper sprayed while trying to stop an alleged thief, Oct. 19.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Interior Crafts and Hobbies
October 23, 2022 - 9:04 AM
A Kamloops business owner got a blast of pepper spray last week after trying to stop an alleged thief from stealing.
Dean Hicks is the co-owner of Interior Crafts and Hobbies on Tranquille Road. On Wednesday, Oct. 19, he said two men walked into the store and one grabbed an Airsoft magazine and walked out with it.
“I walked behind him and 99% of the time when I say ‘hey, are you going to give that back?’ They say ‘yeah, sorry dude and they hand it over.’”
Instead, the man turned and sprayed him with what appeared to be pepper spray. Hicks brother started chasing after him while he called the police. The incident was caught on camera and Hicks posted it to the store's Facebook page.
The pair eventually lost him but Hicks said the man was arrested a short time later. The incident happened shortly after 2 p.m.
“It was burning but I was on a mission,” he said, about chasing after the man despite being pepper sprayed. “The best part is I didn’t get sprayed directly in the face, so I didn’t get blasted fully.”
He was able to flush out his face and eyes with the help of a woman from a neighbouring health building.
Kamloops RCMP reported officers arrested a man.
A 36-year-old Kamloops man, Jeffrey Ernest William Trump, has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon and one count of theft under $5,000 and was scheduled to appear in court, Oct. 20.
Hicks said incidents like this one aren’t a common occurrence. They see drug use near their store but most of the time people are respectful when asked to leave the property.
“They aren’t all bad people, that’s the problem,” he said.
He doesn’t have a reason why he posted the video on his Facebook page. “I’m the back guy, I’m the shy, quiet one but for some reason, I decided to post that and I didn’t think it would get the attention that it did.”
He’s happy to see charges have been laid.
"I've had a few people post 'oh, your employees shouldn't chase people,' well, I don't look at it that way. I don't want people coming into my store thinking 'I can just get away with it.' It's money out of my pocket," Hicks said.
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