CVS store manager Michael Jacobs, 49, is shot and killed by customer accused of shoplifting because he was ‘tired of being bullied’
A store manager shot dead at CVS by a suspected shoplifter who was “tired of being bullied” is the latest victim of violence plaguing retailers.
Michael Jacobs, 49, was shot by accused robber Jared Stevey, 38, in Mesa, Arizona on September 7 around 8 p.m.
Stevey admitted to police that he opened fire on Jacobs because he was “tired of being bullied” and that an argument with him earlier in the day “was the final straw.”
He had spent four hours at CVS at the Mesa Drive and Brown Road location on the day of the shooting and was suspected of shoplifting, but was released.
According to court documents, Stevey claimed Michael “waved” at him but did not hit him.
Michael Jacobs, 49, is survived by his wife Stacy Jacobs and two children (pictured together) after he was shot at his CVS store in Mesa, Arizona on September 7 by a customer accused of theft
Jared Stevey, 38, (pictured) admitted to police that he opened fire on Jacobs because he was “tired of being bullied” and that an argument with him earlier in the day “was the last straw”
Stevey went home to retrieve his gun before returning to the store at the Mesa Drive and Brown Road location at 8 p.m. and demanding to see Jacobs.
Arrest records showed the shooter went home, grabbed his gun, returned to the store and asked store employees to call Michael.
When Michael arrived, the suspect pulled a gun from his waistband, loaded a round into the chamber and pointed the firearm at the manager.
Witnesses said he fired four shots at Michael.
“I’m guilty,” “I planned it,” and “I bet he doesn’t talk nonsense anymore,” the killer told investigators after the shooting.
Stevey is charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
Michael worked at the company for more than twenty years and is survived by his wife, Stacy Jacobs, and two children.
Stacey (pictured with Jacobs and their children when they were young) said her husband worked for CVS for more than 20 years
Gabe Jacobs, Michael’s 16-year-old son, told 12News, “He has dedicated his life to us and his work.”
Stacey said CVS had not contacted the family, but the retailer denied the claim in a statement to 12News.
“We have spoken with Michael’s wife and are helping her access various benefits,” the spokesperson said.
Jacobs’ family has built a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $15,000 from 248 donations.
His 16-year-old son, Gabe, told 12News, “He dedicated his life to us and his work. We never celebrated Christmas on Christmas Day. It would always be Christmas Eve because he was always supposed to be working.”
Jacobs’ tragic death marks the latest in a dangerous pattern of shoplifting and shootings.
Blake Mohs (pictured with his fiancée Kasey Silligman) was fatally shot at Home Depot in Pleasanton, California in April
The loading dock outside Home Depot where Mohs was shot while trying to stop a suspected thief and her boyfriend from stealing a phone charger
In April, an armed Walgreens employee, Mitarius Boyd, shot 24-year-old Travonsha Ferguson in the parking lot in Nashville, Tennessee, after accusing the pregnant woman of shoplifting, forcing her to undergo a C-section.
He is said to have been seen on surveillance footage shooting his semi-automatic pistol several times after being sprayed with mace.
A week later, Home Depot employee Blake Mohs, 26, was shot and killed outside his store in San Francisco, California, while trying to stop a suspected thief and her boyfriend from stealing a phone charger.
Benicia Knapps, 32, and David Guillory, 31, fled the scene with their two-year-old in the car and were later arrested on suspicion of murder, robbery, child endangerment and conspiracy, police said.
Ta’Kiya Young, 21, was shot in her car outside a Kroger in Blendon Township, Ohio after running into a police officer in the parking lot
The pregnant mother of two young children (pictured) had previously been charged with theft
The same month, Banko Brown, 24, was fatally shot after an altercation with security guard Michael-Earl Wayne Anthony, 33, at a Walgreens in San Francisco on April 27.
He described to detectives how Brown said he was going to stab him. “If I let her go, she might try to stab me, so that’s when I pulled my gun,” Anthony told the officers.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has decided that Anthony will not be charged in Brown’s death because he acted in self-defense.
In August, Ta’Kiya Young, 21, a pregnant mother of two young children, was shot to death in her car outside a Kroger in Blendon Township, Ohio, after being charged with theft.
The young mother allegedly drove her car into a police officer in the parking lot, who then opened fire.