57-year-old Thomas Hardy was working at the Mapco on Smith Springs Road and allowed three individuals to enter the store three separate times and steal $9,794.22 worth of merchandise without trying to stop them, call the police, or the store manager. The thieves stole from the front of the store and the employee-only back room. When the store manager, Ms. Heather Azevedo, arrived, she noticed that the merchandise was missing, and Mr. Hardy provided no answers about where it had gone. When she watched the security footage, she noticed that the three subjects conversed with Hardy as they walked past him while committing theft. Ms. Azevedo called the police with the suspicion that Hardy was acquainted with and conspired with the thieves when she heard him tell the subjects, “Come back again.” Mr. Hardy later admitted to officers that he allowed the subjects to steal from the store in exchange for crack.
Thomas Hardy allows store to be robbed in exchange for crack cocaine
