Shop puts spotlight of shame on thieves

For employees of the Darby Mart, only the Wall of Shame has slowed the tidal surge of frustration that comes with minding the store.

The Wall has succeeded where other options — police reports, parking-lot confrontations and in one instance, gunfire — have failed.

Without the Wall, there can be chaos. Some thieves slip Slim Jims up their sleeves or palm packs of Fruit Stripe gum.

Others don’t even feign discretion; they dash out the door with cases of beer under each arm.

Without the Wall, some of these crooks thought nothing of repeat visits.

Carryouts across Columbus sometimes resort to taping up surveillance photographs of repeat shoplifters or the bad checks of local fraudsters. The Darby Mart, on Scioto Darby Road on the Far West Side, started with that idea and took it further.

For starters, its Wall is the store’s front plateglass window, and the foot-tall letters that spell out “WALL OF SHAME” can be seen from the gas pumps.

Also, the employees of the Darby Mart have taken a shine to snarky storytelling beneath the suspects’ photographs.

“My heartburn was so bad, I decided to pocket the Tums that only cost $1.15,” reads one narrative.

“Three wasn’t enough, I had to hide one in my pants.”

“Do you think she had any cheese to go with the wine she put in her bag?”

“You are putting that Buckeye gear to shame, maybe you should have Darby Mart’s “Wall of Shame” includes snarky commentary.

covered your face with the stolen hat you tried to return...and your buddy in the bright yellow? His photo speaks for itself.”

Clerk Ahmad “A.J.” al-saraheen, 35, said the store began the practice a few years ago.

“It’s helped a lot,” said store owner Ahmad al-damen.

Al-damen said he green-lighted the proposal after ensuring that they weren’t stepping into a legal quagmire. At the bottom of the window, a disclaimer notes that all suspects are innocent until proved guilty and that those depicted can argue their case if they believe they are posted in error.

Between the store’s surveillance cameras and al-saraheen’s trusty phone, the evidence is consistently strong. Most thieves are comically obvious as they loiter in front of shelves, swiveling their heads left and right with a speed rarely seen outside a tennis match.

If a featured person

apologizes and pays up, which sometimes happens, that photo comes down.

The Wall, al-saraheen said, is “way better than the cops” in curtailing thefts. Although he doesn’t own the store, the clerk takes the thefts personally.

“It’s my store, honestly,” he said. “That’s how I feel about it.”

On Nov. 16, 2017, that devotion landed him in trouble.

He was in back when he heard his female co-worker holler for help. Two men had stolen cases of beer and were about to speed away when al-saraheen drew the handgun holstered at his waist and fired at one of their tires. He called 911 and gave chase in his car.

When police showed up, they charged him with improper discharge of a firearm within city limits. Eventually, one of the beer thieves was subpoenaed to testify against him as a witness. Al-saraheen said that while he awaited trial on the misdemeanor charge, the thief showed up at the store with an offer: If al-saraheen paid him $100, he would lie on the stand so the clerk could beat the case.

“He wanted to blackmail me!” al-saraheen said.

He refused. He said he was fortunate that his boss stood by him and covered costs associated with the case. The clerk eventually pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct to put it behind him. His gun was returned, and it was back on his hip last week.

“I made a mistake,” he said. “I shot a gun in city limits. I get it.”

The experience, though, underscored the frustration felt by him, his boss and co-workers. Thieves seem to operate with impunity, while businesses are expected to take the losses on the chin, he said.

The Wall of Shame feels like their best recourse.

“This,” al-saraheen said, “is the only way you can fight back.”