ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (WXYZ) — Police in St. Clair Shores say they have arrested a man accused of stealing the hard-earned tips of workers at El Charro restaurant and maybe a second location just down the street.
Both incidents were caught on surveillance cameras on Dec. 30.
El Charro general manager Keith Sklarski says he was upset when he found out $20 was stolen from his employees.
"A big part of their income are tips," Sklarski said. "It's more just kind of the statement of it is that there's just people out there that don't care."
St. Clair Shores police told us the man in the video was arrested at his home around 1:30 p.m. Friday. They say they received information from the community after an online post.
"I couldn't believe how much exposure. Everybody coming in is saying they knew that that happened," frequent El Charro customer Richard Kupke said. "I felt bad for them, so I gave them a couple extra."
7 News Detroit blurred the man's face in the video because he has been arrested, but he has not been arraigned on any charges yet.
St. Clair Shores police are investigating the possibility that he is the same man who hit another Mexican restaurant just down the street
"No one should be stealing from each other, especially hard-working people," an employee for Amigos Street Tacos, Arquavias Gaffney, said.
He said their tip jar was also stolen on Dec. 30.
"I'm the type of person if you would have asked me on the street, I would have given you $15, or I would have given you the food," Gaffney said.
The owners of Amigos and some employees believe it is the same man who was arrested at his home Friday for allegedly stealing tips from El Charro.
"It looks like the same guy, definitely," Gaffney said.
Police say, for now, that man is only being arrested for the El Charro incident and that while he may not have stolen a lot of money, police say a charge of larceny in a building is a felony.
