A CVS store manager was killed on the job by a man suspected of shoplifting, police say — the latest example of a US retail theft epidemic that is becoming increasingly deadly.
Michael Jacobs, 49 — an operations manager at CVS Pharmacy in Mesa, Ariz., where he had worked for the past 20-plus years — was shot and killed allegedly by Jared Sevey in the evening hours of Sept. 7, according to KKTV 11 News.
Sevey, 39, was reportedly inside the Arizona CVS location earlier that day, arguing with Jacobs about shoplifting, KKTV reported. After the conflict, Sevey went home to get a gun.
Sevey admitted to police that he shot Jacobs because he was “tired of being bullied,” and “this was the last straw,” according to the news outlet.
The Post has sought comment from CVS, which has already resorted to installing built-in locks on freezer doors and putting padlocks around necessities like deodorant and toothbrushes at its locations in major US cities.
Jacobs left behind two children and his wife of 23 years, Stacy. Jacobs’ family has started a GoFundMe page, saying that “CVS has not even reached out to us to discuss medical expenses along with funeral expenses.” The GoFundMe has already collected over 200 donations totaling $15,402.
It’s the latest incident in a lethal trend. In April, a 26-year-old Home Depot employee was fatally shot after confronting a woman attempting to steal from the home improvement retailer’s Pleasanton store, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to KKTV.
Just days earlier, a pregnant shoplifter at a Walgreens in Nashville was shot by a staffer following a confrontation over stolen merchandise that resulted in an exchange of Mace and bullets. The wounded mother-to-be was rushed to the hospital, where doctors performed an emergency C-section, saving the baby and 24-year-old mother’s life.
The Walgreens worker was later charged by the Davidson County District Attorneys Office with aggravated assault, but a grand jury declined to indict him earlier this week. The new mother, meanwhile, was indicted for theft and assault.
Representatives for Home Depot and Walgreens didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Stories of seemingly consequence-free shoplifting are everywhere: There’s an epidemic of drugstore thefts in New York, and a landmark grocery store in Baltimore shut its doors after nearly 25 years after a community desperate for fresh food resorted to simply stealing it.
Experts have blamed the surge on lax policies — including the passage of Prop 47 in California, which reduced theft from a potential felony to a misdemeanor — as well as calls to defund the police in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, which resulted in a mass exodus of cops nationwide.
In New York City, dubbed a “shoplifter’s paradise” by some fed-up local politicians, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has faced blowback over his not requesting bail for some repeat shoplifting suspects. Bragg also has refused to bust thieves unless they pilfer items exceeding $1,000 in value, which is when theft becomes a felony.
A furor erupted in July after CVS worker Scotty Enoe, 46, fatally knifed Charles Brito after the 50-year-old serial thief punched him. Can Alvin Bragg maybe help with that?” fumed City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island). “He just chooses not to prosecute and we end up with vigilante justice.”
With no nationwide policy on how to deal with shoplifting, many employers have encouraged staffers to do nothing at all in an effort to keep them out of harm’s way.
Lululemon became notorious for its hands-off policy after the athletic gear company axed two employees who called the police while three masked men robbed a Georgia outpost.
The company cited its zero-tolerance policy for intervening in a robbery as a reason for firing the workers, whom Lululemon refers to as “educators.”
A Walmart in Atlanta, meanwhile, will be installing a police workspace inside the store when it opens in May. The grocery store and pharmacy previously closed after it was set on fire by suspected arsonists.
The shoplifting epidemic cost retailers nearly $100 billion in 2021, and the number of shoplifting complaints surged to more than 63,000 last year — a 45% jump over the roughly 45,000 reported in 2021 and a nearly 275% jump compared to the mid-2000s, police statistics show.
Now, Bragg in New York is reportedly working to snuff out shoplifting by going after repeat offenders. Part of his plan includes focused deterrence, meaning pre-trial detention will be requested for accused thieves who have prior felony convictions, multiple open cases and a history of skipping out on court dates.
New York also has implemented an initiative dubbed the Merchants Business Improvement Program, which allows business owners to get restraining orders against suspects who repeatedly come into their stores and steal or harass workers, officials said last month.
Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Clinton are among high-profile figures pictured in a new selection of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, released by Democrats in Congress.
This article contains images of a sexual nature that some people may find offensive.
Sky News has identified all of the people whose faces have not been redacted in the images. They have been contacted for comment.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of those pictured and the context surrounding the 19 photos is not known.
In one image, the US president is seen with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve.
Image: Donald Trump, Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Two further photos show Mr Trump with women whose faces are redacted.
One image is black and white and shows him with six women; three on either side of him. The other is out of focus, and shows him sitting alongside an unidentified woman.
Image: Mr Trump alongside six unidentified women Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Mr Trump with an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking after Epstein took his own life in jail in 2019, Mr Trump admitted knowing Epstein, but added: “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
In July, the White House also released a statement saying Epstein had been banned from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for acting like a “creep”.
Image: Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol. Pic: @OversightDems
In another photo released by Democrats, Bill Clinton is seen with Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as singer Jimmy Buffett and Mr Buffett’s wife Jane Slagsvol.
In 2019, a spokesperson for the former US president said he had “not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade” and “knows nothing about the terrible crimes”.
Further images show Epstein with long-time Trump ally, Steve Bannon. In one he sits across from him at his desk, while in another the men are seen side-by-side taking a selfie in a mirror.
Image: Jeffrey Epstein with long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen appears in four of the photos; two of them taken with Epstein.
Image: Woody Allen with Jeffrey Epstein and an unidentified woman. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Woody Allen and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: @OversightDems
In another, Allen is photographed with Bannon, while one more shows him sat with Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New, seemingly on a private plane.
Image: Woody Allen and Steve Bannon. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary, Larry Summers, and his wife Elisa New. Pic: @OversightDems
Speaking to The Times in September, Allen said he had been to dinner at Epstein’s home, but suggested he was unaware of the nature of his crimes.
Allen said: “He told us he’d been in jail and that he had been – I can’t remember the word – but that he’d been falsely put in jail in some way.”
Meanwhile, Summers told the Harvard Crimson that his former association with Epstein was “a major error of judgement”.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, is seen just once, alongside tech billionaire Bill Gates. Epstein is not pictured. The original photo at a malaria summit also shows the then Prince Charles but he is cropped out of the version released by the Democrats. It is not clear why the picture has been included in the Epstein files.
Image: Bill Gates with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a prince. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Bill Gates talks to the then Prince Andrew and then Prince Charles during a malaria summit in London on April 18, 2018. Pic: Reuters
Andrew relinquished his titles in October amid continued controversy over his friendship with Epstein, but said at the time: “I vigorously deny the accusations against me”.
Gates himself appears twice more, once alongside Epstein’s long-time pilot, Larry Visoski, and once in a framed photo which appears in an image above a black cabinet.
Image: Bill Gates and Epstein’s longtime pilot, Larry Visoski. Pic: @OversightDems
Image: A photo released in the Epstein files shows Bills Gates’s picture framed above a cabinet. Pic: @OversightDems
In 2021, the billionaire told the New York Times he had met Epstein to discuss philanthropy and Gates’s spokeswoman said he regretted ever meeting him.
A year later, Gates told the BBC: “I made a mistake ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Any meeting I had with him could be viewed as almost condoning his evil behaviour. So, that was a mistake.”
Another photo shows British entrepreneur Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen, an American engineer, inventor, and businessman.
Image: Richard Branson with Epstein and Dean Kamen. Pic: @OversightDems
Epstein is seen with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, in one more image.
Image: Epstein with his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. Pic: @OversightDems
Dershowitz said he fell out with Epstein after making a plea deal for him in 2007, leading to his conviction.
He told the Harvard Crimson in November: “Jeffrey Epstein despised me after I had made the deal. Epstein and I did not get along personally after I represented him and helped get the deal.”
A number of images of a sexual nature also appear in the cache.
One shows a bowl of novelty condoms with a caricature of Trump’s face, each one bearing the phrase “I’m HUUUUGE!” A handwritten sign reads: “Trump condom $4.50.”
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Various sex toys are also featured in pictures, including a glove with ribbed fingers, and a safety notice from a “jawbreaker” gag warning of the risk of injury or death.
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
Image: Pic: @OversightDems
The images were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which obtained them from the Epstein estate.
Democrats said the files included tens of thousands of photos and said more would be released in the coming days.
They were described as “images of the wealthy and powerful men who spent time with Jeffrey Epstein” and “photographs of women and Epstein properties”.
A spokesperson for the Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Democrats of “cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions” to create a “false narrative” about Donald Trump.
“Democrats’ hoax against President Trump has been completely debunked,” they added.
The King has shared in a television address that, thanks to early diagnosis, his cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year.
In a televised address, Charles said his “good news” was “thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to doctors’ orders”.
“This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years,” he added.
“Testimony that I hope may give encouragement to the 50% of us who will be diagnosed with the illness at some point in our lives.”
The King announced in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning treatment.
The monarch postponed all public-facing engagements, but continued with his duties as head of state behind palace walls, conducting audiences and Privy Council meetings.
He returned to public duties in April last year and visited University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in central London with the Queen and discussed his “shock” at being diagnosed when he spoke to a fellow cancer patient.
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Sources suggested last December his treatment would continue in 2025 and was “moving in a positive direction”.
Image: The King began returning to public duties in April last year. File pic: PA
The King has chosen not to reveal what kind of cancer he has been treated for. Palace sources have partly put that down to the fact that he doesn’t want one type of cancer to appear more significant or attract more attention than others.
In a statement after the speech aired, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “His Majesty has responded exceptionally well to treatment and his doctors advise that ongoing measures will now move into a precautionary phase.”
Sir Keir Starmer praised the video message as “a powerful message,” and said: “I know I speak for the entire country when I say how glad I am that his cancer treatment will be reduced in the new year.
“Early cancer screening saves lives.”
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5:10
Watch: King Charles gives update on treatment
Early detection can give ‘the precious gift of hope’
His message on Friday was broadcast at 8pm in support of Stand Up To Cancer, a joint campaign by Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.
In an appeal to people to get screened for the disease early, the King said: “I know from my own experience that a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming.
“Yet I also know that early detection is the key that can transform treatment journeys, giving invaluable time to medical teams – and, to their patients, the precious gift of hope. These are gifts we can all help deliver.”
Charles noted that “at least nine million people in our country are not up to date with the cancer screenings available to them,” adding: “That is at least nine million opportunities for early diagnosis being missed.
“The statistics speak with stark clarity. To take just one example: When bowel cancer is caught at the earliest stage, around nine in ten people survive for at least five years.
“When diagnosed late, that falls to just one in ten. Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives.”
after months of uncertainty, some relief and reassurance for the King
This is a rare but positive update. The King in his own words speaking about his cancer.
And it’s good news.
Since his diagnosis, he’s received weekly treatment. His work schedule has had to fit around the appointments. And while it’s not stopping, it is being significantly reduced.
He’s responded well, and his recovery has reached, we understand, a very positive stage.
The King’s decision to speak publicly and so personally is unusual.
He has deliberately chosen the moment, supporting the high-profile Stand Up To Cancer campaign, and the launch of a national online screening checker.
It still hasn’t been revealed what kind of cancer he has. And there’s a reason – firstly, it’s private information.
But more importantly, the King knows the power of sharing his story. And with it, the potential to support the wider cancer community.
We are once again seeing a candid openness from the Royal Family. Earlier this year, the Princess of Wales discussed the ups and downs of her cancer journey.
These moments signal a shift towards greater transparency on matters the Royal Family once kept entirely private.
For millions facing cancer, the King’s update is empathy and encouragement from someone who understands.
And after months of uncertainty, for the King himself, some relief and reassurance.
Minor inconvenience of screening ‘a small price to pay’
The King acknowledged that people often avoid screening “because they imagine it may be frightening, embarrassing or uncomfortable”. But, he added: “If and when they do finally take up their invitation, they are glad they took part.
“A few moments of minor inconvenience are a small price to pay for the reassurance that comes for most people when they are either told either they don’t need further tests, or, for some, are given the chance to enable early detection, with the life-saving intervention that can follow.”
Giving his “most heartfelt thanks” to doctors, nurses, researchers and charity workers, the King added: “As I have observed before, the darkest moments of illness can be illuminated by the greatest compassion. But compassion must be paired with action.
“This December, as we gather to reflect on the year past, I pray that we can each pledge, as part of our resolutions for the year ahead, to play our part in helping to catch cancer early.
“Your life – or the life of someone you love – may depend upon it.”
Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht underwent labrum surgery on his non-throwing shoulder Thursday, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Becht played the majority of the season with a partial labrum tear and using a harness on the shoulder. He was diagnosed with the injury after the Cyclones’ loss to Cincinnati on Oct. 4. He also dealt with an AC sprain in his throwing shoulder late in the season, which he is recovering from.
Sources said Becht is expected to make a full recovery in the upcoming months as he weighs decisions about his future. The quarterback is expected to consider a return to Iowa State or entering the transfer portal.
Longtime Cyclones coach Matt Campbell left the school earlier this month to become Penn State‘s coach. The Cyclones hired Washington State‘s Jimmy Rogers as his replacement.
Becht, a junior this season, threw for 2,584 yards with 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He has totaled 9,274 yards, 64 touchdowns and 27 interceptions in three-plus seasons at Iowa State.