That’s him there (allegedly), in the Kelly Kate glasses and stonewashed denim. He and his crew were out in full force of the weekend, taking advantage of the hordes of people out celebrating Pride. Mo, one of his victims, tells her story (on Reddit):
The way he pickpocketed me is this: He came up to me, grabbed me from behind, and told me to take a picture with him. I didn’t know this guy, so this was super confusing, but he seemed like he was trying to grab my camera maybe, so I handed the camera to my friend, who then took the photo. Afterwards, he scurried off with his friends and me and my friend were left wondering, “wtf drugs was this dude on…?”
It wasn’t until a few seconds later, when another woman (who I didn’t know) came up to me and said, “I saw that guy take your phone when he grabbed you!” and I looked in my pocket and indeed my phone was missing. This was long enough that he had disappeared into the sea of thousands in Dolores, though a couple of my friends spent a while trying to hunt him down to no avail. [link]
Yikes. Another Reddit user recognized him:
Him and at least one other person used to run scams in the Union Square area. They would come in and grab large amounts of product to “purchase” around Christmas time. When they got to the sales counter they would provide a credit card and an out of state drivers license(it was from Hawaii when I dealt with them) a form of ID. When the card was run through the computer would kick out a number to call for confirmation and one of their friends would be on the other end and would give you a confirmation number. And for some reason any number will allow the transaction to go through. I loathe him. [link]
And yet another warns that he and his crew are potentially dangerous:
This guy and his shitty friends used to come into the Castro Chevron and shoplift everyday. His friend has lips tattooed on his neck. They are known to pepper spray you if you give chase. Real tough guys. :/ [link]
So the next time you try to take a picture of this guy and his cute outfit for your fashion blog, make sure you keep your valuables locked up tight.
(Thanks, Chris and Danyell.)
[Photo by Mo]