Awesome amateur sketch helps police identify theft suspect

Hung Phuoc Nguyen is wanted on two counts of theft by unlawful taking.



An amateur hand-drawn sketch helped investigators identify a suspect accused of theft at a Pennsylvania farmers market. Take a good look at that sketch, then look at the suspect's mug shot. I know. Awesome.

According to police, Hung Phuoc Nguyen pretended to be an employee at a stand inside Central Market in Lancaster. When an actual employee stepped away, Nguyen took cash from a customer then ran off.

A witness provided a rough sketch -- really rough sketch -- of the suspect to officers. The drawing, along with the physical description, somehow helped remind investigators of a potential suspect.

The Great Failed Spam Heist of Ewa Beach

Thieves thwarted while attempting to steal 18 cases of Spam from a Hawaii drug store.



It wasn't exactly a fool-proof plan, but you have to appreciate the audacity of these thieves, just a little bit. This week in Hawaii, three women were thwarted while trying to steal 18 cases of Spam.

3 women attempt to steal 18 cases of Spam at Ewa Beach Longs

According to KITV, the attempted Spam heist occurred at a Longs Drugs store in Ewa Beach, where a trio of shoplifters tried to roll off with 18 cases -- that's 216 cans -- of everybody's favorite canned cooked meat.

The thieves were thwarted when a watchful customer noticed the shopping cart full of Spam while hanging out in cereal aisle. He got suspicious and staked out the store's exit to see what was up.

"I didn't say anything. I just stood by the door and the person that was trying to steal all the Spam just pushed the wagon and said 'Here!'" Kurt Fevella told KITV.

Serial thief targeting Korean businesses in San Diego

Suspect orders dishes at restaurants that take a while to make and then uses that time to steal.



Beware the suspicious man who orders kalbi. In the San Diego area, police are searching for a serial thief who has been caught on surveillance video primarily targeting local businesses in the Korean community.

An unknown suspect appears to be targeting Korean eateries on Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa. In each case, he order dishes at restaurants that take a while to make and then uses that time to steal from the business.

Thievin' is bad enough, but the dude is wasting perfectly good barbecued meat!

Brooklyn woman fights off fire escape burglar

Tiffany Chang wasn't letting this thief take her laptop without a fight.


Not the actual burglar.
When Tiffany Chang walked in on a burglar breaking into her Brooklyn apartment, and saw that he was trying to make off with her laptop and other valuables, she was like, oh hell no. She fought back -- and won.

Brooklyn Woman Catches Burglar on Fire Escape, Fights Him

On Wednesday in Williamsburg, a thief climbed a fire escape and snuck into Chang's bedroom window. She walked in from the other room to discover the man halfway out the fire escape holding her laptop.

But Tiffany wasn't letting him take it without a fight.

This Buddhist monk isn't getting his wallet stolen that easily

61-year-old victim fights robber who snatched his wallet.



In Philadelphia, a man was caught on surveillance video robbing of Buddhist monk of his wallet while he was at a gas station. The monk, not ready to lose his money like that, is seen chasing and grabbing at the assailant.

Buddhist monk fights robber

Unfortunately, the robber got away. The 61-year-old victim, dressed in the orange robe of a Buddhist monk, was at a lottery machine -- I guess monks gotta play Powerball too -- inside of a Sunoco gas station in South Philadelphia, when the robber came up to him and snatched his wallet out of his hand.

But the monk wasn't ready to part with his money that easily. He chased after the robber and struggled with him outside the store, but the suspect pushed him to the ground before getting in his car and driving away.

The incident was caught on the gas station's security cameras:

"The Grinch of Chattanooga" turns himself in

23-year-old Tony Ho was caught on camera stealing packages from porches.



Asians behaving badly... package thievery edition! Last in week in Tennessee, the suspect in a series of thefts turned himself in to police after he was caught on camera stealing packages from people's porches.

Chattanooga Grinch Turns Himself In

The cops were calling him the "Grinch of Chattanooga." 23-year-old Tony Ho was charged with theft after driving around in a minivan -- described by the police as a "wagon of thievery" -- and repeatedly stealing UPS, FedEx and post packages from porches around the Chattanooga area.

Restaurant robber thwarted by knife-wielding sushi chef

"Don't make me use this."



A warning to would-be thieves: do not try to mess with the folks at Kamakura Japanese Restaurant in Champaign, Illinois. You will face the sharp justice of a knife-wielding sushi chef and his badass staff. Last week, they thwarted an armed assailant who stupidly tried to rob the place. He is now in jail.

Knife-wielding sushi chef foils restaurant robbery

On Tuesday, when a wannabe robber entered the restaurant and pulled a revolver (it turned out to be a pellet gun) on the hostess, chef Tetsuji Miwa grabbed the first weapon within reach -- his sushi knife. The robber got spooked and made a run for it, but two other workers jumped in and tackled him before police arrived.

Do not mess with the crew at Kamakura. They do not play.

Med student charged with stealing dying woman's iPad

Device went missing after cancer patient went into cardiac arrest



Asians behaving badly... iPad-stealing medical student edition! Damn. This one's cold-blooded. A UCLA medical school student faces felony charges of theft for stealing an iPad that belonged to a dying cancer patient.

UCLA Med Student Arrested For Allegedly Stealing From Dying Woman

Natalie Packer, a patient at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, kept her iPad at her bedside while being treated for an aggressive form of breast cancer. But according to her family, Packer's iPad went missing during the Code Blue response to revive her when she went into cardiac arrest.

Topless shoplifting suspect turns herself in

Thief left behind more than her purse while getting away from mall security



Asians behaving badly... topless shoplifter edition! In Southern California, a woman who inadvertently lost her shirt as she attempted to flee a department store after getting caught shoplifting has turned herself in.

Topless shoplifting suspect turns herself in after Macy's incident

In June, 45-year-old Jeannie Hua allegedly tried to leave a Macy's in Arcadia with unpaid merchandise in her purse. When she got stopped by security, she tried to make a break for it. Somehow, in the ensuing struggle, both her shirt and bra came off, but she managed to make it to her car and drive off.

But she left behind her purse, which not only included the stuff she tried to steal, but also her identification. Someone also managed to jot down her license number. Not quite a clean getaway.

File Under Badass: Gas station clerk thwarts robbery with mixed martial arts

These thieves picked the wrong gas station. The one with a MMA fighter working behind the counter.



Crime doesn't pay. In fact, sometimes it hurts like a kick in the face. Some would-be thieves in Houston learned that the hard way when they tried to rob a gas station employee... and got their asses kicked by a convenience store clerk who also happens to be a muthaeffin' mixed martial arts fighter.

Gas station clerk with MMA training surprises thieves

Mayura Dissanyake was working behind the counter at Fuel Depot when he saw two men outside jump out of an SUV and attack his co-worker, who was returning to the store after a run to the bank. Dissanyake, who is trained in mixed martial arts and apparently was a champion in Sri Lanka, sprung into action.

"The first guy I saw, I just kicked him in the face. Then I punched the other guy."

An effective strategy. Let's go to the tape:

Burglars busted after posting stolen loot on social media

Thieves targeted multiple Indian communities across California and Nevada



In Southern California, police have arrested multiple suspects in connection with a sophisticated burglary ring that has been targeting Indian communities in California and Nevada for gold, jewelry and cash.

Gold-theft ring busted; targeted Indian communities

According to investigators, the thieves are connected to a Long Beach street gang who used the internet and other sources to find their victims, specifically targeting Indian homes in multiple counties across Southern and Northern California, as well as Nevada. They gained the trust of their targets, found out when residents would be away from their homes, then made off with gold, jewelry, cash and other valuables.

The suspects burglarized over a hundred homes in about a year.

Restaurant owner thwarts iPhone thief with an asskicking

Badass restauranteur Jason Chan is a 19-year practitioner of Shidokan.

BOOM. Feel the fist of justice. In Chicago, a restaurant owner used his martial arts skills to knock out a thief who stole a customer's iPhone: Restaurant Owner Serves Knuckle Sandwich To Alleged iPhone Thief.

Restauranteur Jason Chan owns the Lincoln Park sushi joint Juno. He also happens to be a practitioner of the martial art Shidokan, a style of karate. But more on that in a bit.

Chan was suspicious of 37-year-old Justin Ballog when he entered the restaurant and placed his jacket on the bar. When Ballog suddenly snatched his coat back and ran out of the restaurant, a customer realized the man had grabbed his iPhone.

Oh helll no. Chan immediately took off in search of the thief, and remembering his distinct striped sweater, tracked him to a restaurant a few blocks down the street. That's where he confronted him, and that's where Chan's Shidokan skills came in handy when Ballog tried to get physical.

He knocked him him out with a kick to the face:

To the asshole who broke into Steven Yeun's car

While you were watching The Walking Dead, somebody stole Steven Yeun's backpack.



On Sunday night, Steven Yeun, who plays your favorite Asian American zombie apocalypse survivor Glenn on the hit AMC drama, shared an Instagram photo of his car's busted window, through which someone stole his backpack. Its precious stolen contents included a laptop, a camera, a book and a notebook full of "dumb ideas." In an eloquent open letter, Steven addressed the "asshole" thief:

Airport worker accused of stealing from luggage

Asians behaving badly... airport thievery edition! In Minneapolis, a behind-the-scenes airport worker is accused of stealing guns(!), computers, cell phones, cameras and other valuable items from checked luggage: Minneapolis airport worker accused of stealing guns, other valuables from luggage.

23-year-old David Vang, who worked maintaining baggage conveyance systems in a secure area of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, was charged with eleven counts of felony theft after he was caught on camera taking items from checked baggage. His wife, Vue Xiong, was charged with one count of felony theft for helping him take the items.

Police uncovered more than 700 stolen items from Vang's living room closet -- including 10 firearms, as well as iPads, laptop computers, projectors, cellphones, cameras, purses, watches, knives, jewelry and hunting and fishing gear -- all together valued at over $84,000:

gotcha sucka! woman catches burglar with bear spray

In this edition of bear spray justice... Check it. In San Francisco, a woman gets fed up with a burglar who's been stealing packages from homes in her neighborhood, so she takes matters into her own hands: San Francisco Woman Apprehends Burglar with Bear Spray, Live-tweets the Incident.

Sonya Yu set up her own sting operation, complete with a dummy package, and took down the thievin' sucka with bear repellent and a samurai sword -- and live-tweeted the whole thing while it was going down. The cops nabbed him, and alleged burglar Andy Anduha was in police custody:

man steals chinese food delivery car, continues making deliveries

Now here's a twist on the Chinese food delivery robbery. In Connecticut, a man stole a car being used during a delivery run, then attempted to finish delivering the remaining orders to collect the cash: Man Allegedly Steals Chinese Delivery Car, Continues Dropping Off Orders.

45-year-old Keith Hinds was charged with third-degree larceny, possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to keep drugs in the original container. Police actually caught him in the middle of making a delivery. Nice try, dude.

Beware: Rich Old Pickpocket LAdy Who Hates Chinese People

Asians behaving badly... Chinese-hating Robin Hood edition!

This week in New York, a wealthy retired restaurateur was arraigned on grand larceny for an alleged pickpocketing spree last week in Chinatown, in which which robbed Chinese pedestrians... to give to the poor?

Well-heeled Florida retiree is a compulsive Chinatown pickpocket: DA.

Bizarre. 67-year-old Ha Vasko, a former refugee from Vietnam who apparently owns a $400,000 home in Florida, faces three years in prison -- and possible hate crime charges -- for stealing $350 from the purses and pockets of four victims last week. Why did she do it? She apparently hates "the Chinese people."