Video: Two 7-Eleven workers thrash would-be thief who tried to wheel away trash can full of cigarettes

Democrats may have all but legalized shoplifting in California, but that's no guarantee that every red-blooded American in the state will stand idly by while criminals rob them blind.

Case in point: A pair of 7-Eleven workers recently ran the risk of potentially violating the codes of legislators.

A video that has gone viral shows two clerks watching in disbelief as a man wearing a blue T-shirt over his head casually pushes a 20-gallon trash can behind their Stockton store's register. Inside the employees-only area, the thief begins pulling hundreds of dollars' worth of cigarettes, cigars, vapes, and other tobacco products off the shelves.

"Hey, why you stealing everything?" asks one of the clerks.

The thief reportedly responds with an insinuation that he might shoot the clerks, saying, "Shut your a** ... before I put my strap on your b**** a**. B**** a** n*****."

While the thief in the improvised blue mask continues to pilfer and cuss out the clerks, a bystander on the customer's side of the counter says, "Just let him go. ... There ain't nothing you can do. They're not going to do nothing."

The customer — who the New York Post indicated filmed the incident — repeatedly stresses that the clerks are powerless to act until police arrive.

Finally, one of the clerks decides to prove that customer wrong, blocking the thief's progress and grabbing the trash can.

In the ensuing tug-of-war, the thief's mask drops such that his subsequent expressions of surprise and pain are impossible to miss.

While the two tangle around the loot-filled garbage can, the second clerk disappears off-screen. He returns, however, wielding what appears to be a wooden broomstick at least four feet long.

The New York Post reported that while the one clerk held the thief down, the second 7-Eleven employee managed to deliver 23 thwacks, eliciting yelps and groans.

"I'm done!" yells the thief. "I'm going to go."

Clearly surprised by this turn of events, the customer yells, "That's called whoopin' your a**! Whoop his a**! Get him!"

"Okay! Okay!" the thief cries out as the clerk delivered another round of strikes.

In subsequent videos uploaded to Instagram, the customer can be seen brokering a peace between the clerks and the thief. After confirming he didn't have a gun after all, the employees agree to let the thief leave empty-handed before police arrive.

The customer then escorts the thief out of the store, telling him, "Get the f*** out, man."

"I can't walk," says the thief.

"You better walk tonight," responds the customer.

The individual who uploaded the video reportedly told Newsweek the incident took place at a 7-Eleven in downtown Stockton. He has also uploaded a video documenting another instance when three women entered a Stockton 7-Eleven with a garbage can, filled it up, and left without paying.

7-Eleven reportedly did not respond to the Post's request for comment.

Stockton ranks 3 on Neighborhood Scout's crime index, where 100 is safest. The chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 79. The likelihood of becoming a victim of a property crime is 1 in 30.

It appears to have been a rough go for numerous 7-Eleven employees in recent weeks.

TheBlaze previously reported that two female employees at a Mesquite, Texas, location were allegedly brutalized by five girls over their refusal to sell an underage girl a cigar.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!