Marlayna Pincott is the co-owner of Hype Chocolate on East Hastings Street in the Strathcona neighborhood. He told CTV News that the disturbing incident happened on Saturday right after their afternoon rush. The man seemed to be browsing at first, but when he got there his behavior seemed a little strange and he asked her to get him something from the other end of the store. “It was obvious to me that it was to distract me and take me away from my fund,” he said. “I literally turned around for a second to call my clerk up front so I wouldn’t be alone at the front of the store. In that time, the tip jar was gone.” The man, according to Pincott, was wearing a very large coat and he suspected that he was hiding the rather large jar underneath. When she asked him if he had taken it, he became angry at being blamed. “We never try to clash with anyone because things can escalate quickly. We let him out of the store and then my employee and I followed him and recorded him. And then I pulled the surveillance tapes and we had a full profile,” he said. “I feel a little insecure because I don’t know if this person is going to come back. We try to be a family store and we have a lot of kids in here. It’s almost hard to describe how I feel because I have a lot of stress around me.”
‘QUITE ALARMING’
Pincott estimates there would be between $20 and $40 in the jar, but says the amount of money isn’t her main concern. Since posting on Instagram and TikTok, Pincott says she’s heard from other store owners who point out the similarities between what happened at her store and a theft on camera from the West Vancouver pastry shop last month. A cafe in White Rock and a bakery on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive also commented on the post, saying the man bears a striking resemblance to the person who stole from their counters. “It was pretty disturbing,” he said, adding that he has seen the video of the incident in West Vancouver and read the posts from other businesses. “I honestly don’t know what consequences he’s faced, but the fact that he still seems to be actively doing it is disappointing.” Pincott alerted the Strathcona Community Safety Service, a group of private security guards hired by the local Business Improvement Association to patrol the area. He hasn’t made a police report, but he hasn’t completely ruled it out. “It’s hard for me to make that call to bother them when I know there are so many more serious things going on in this neighborhood,” Pincott said. “I know the nature of the neighborhood can be difficult at times, but honestly we do the best we can. If someone sleeps in our parking lot, we offer them water in the morning. We’re just trying to help people more. So it’s really sad that someone just would take us.”
