Apr 25, 2016
Marcel has been a client at Entrust Disability Services for awhile now. He has established some great hobbies and routines through his participation in community activities. He loves gaming and going to the Londonderry Mall with staff to check out the latest video games. Marcel also enjoys chatting with other passionate gamers about their shared interests.
One afternoon in March, Marcel was out at the mall with his support staff. He visited a few of his favourite retail stores. Marcel engaged in happy conversation with other mall visitors during his shopping trip. Marcel eventually made his way to one of his very favourite places, Game City gaming store. As he was browsing the games, he noticed something was amiss in the store.
A young man had broke open the display showcase. The individual was trying to steal a Wii U console and video games from the broken case. Marcel went up to the sales counter immediately and loudly said, "Call the police!" He quickly informed the sales associate of the theft that was happening in progress. The man who was attempting to steal the gaming equipment got frightened by Marcel's alert. The thief tried to place the blame on Marcel to deflect suspicion.
Of course, Marcel denied the false accusations, having done nothing wrong. At that point the sales associate checked with other Game City staff members. The associate wanted to see if Marcel, who is a regular customer, had tried to steal merchandise before. The staff all confirmed Marcel had never stolen nor acted out in a suspicious way during his visits. In the midst of the commotion and confusion, the young man who was the real perpetrator slipped out of the store undetected.
Two days later Marcel was back at the Londonderry Mall. He returned to Game City to browse gaming merchandise and chat to other gamers as usual. This time the store owner Lucas was there and called on Marcel and the support staff to gather around. Lucas said he reviewed the security surveillance tapes from the theft incident. The footage showed that the young man Marcel had identified really was trying to steal gaming equipment. The video confirmed the suspect had forcibly opened the display showcase.
According to Lucas the approximate retail price of the nearly-stolen console and games amounted to 300 dollars. Lucas was so grateful that Marcel had stopped the theft from taking place successfully. The store owner wanted to give Marcel a reward for his heroic actions. Marcel had his pick from four collectible game toys as his reward. The store also presented him with a personalized thank-you card that read "Thank you a bunch. You are a hero."
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