Left: Jason Hay (GoFundMe). Right: Three people try to help Hay after he had a heart attack at the liquor store where he worked. The man with the red hood allegedly stole $800 from the store (KPTV).
Authorities in Portland, Oregon, are on the hunt for a suspect who took advantage of a liquor store clerk’s medical crisis by stealing from the establishment and failing to assist the stricken employee.
The incident, as reported by the Portland Police Bureau, unfolded at Bins & Barrels around 6:15 p.m. on October 25. During the unfortunate event, a man seized the opportunity to swipe cash from behind the store counter and office while an employee suffered a heart attack.
“This seems to be an isolated incident, more a chance crime than part of a larger pattern,” explained Mike Benner, the bureau’s public information officer, to Law & Crime.
Colleagues identified the employee as Jason Hay, 53, who was promptly hospitalized following the attack but sadly passed away about a week later.
Hay was known for his personal touch during his year-long tenure at the store. “He genuinely tried to learn the name of everyone who entered,” shared a fellow employee during a vigil held Monday, as reported by local Fox affiliate KPTV.
“He made an effort to know every single person”s name who walked through that door,” a store employee said at a vigil on Monday, according to local Fox affiliate KPTV.
Bins & Barrels manager Michelle Maurer told local NBC affiliate KGW that the suspect stole some $800 while acting like a good Samaritan who was trying to help Hay.
“During this time, several good Samaritans came in and tried to help out. Unfortunately, one man came in and acted like he was trying to help, even took Jason’s pulse, when it was obvious he was patting Jason down to find his wallet,” Maurer said.
Surveillance video reportedly showed the man walk into the back office as others were frantically trying to save Hay’s life.
“He discovered that our change safe was open, and grabbed the bank bags and shoved them down the front of his pants,” Maurer told KGW.
Hay leaves behind a wife and a 15-year-old son and spent the majority of his life in Portland. A GoFundMe account is raising funds for his family as he was the sole provider.
“He was a light in this community and I hope everyone pays it forward like he would every day,” his sister Jessica Jones said at the vigil per KPTV.
Jones said Hay probably knew the man that stole from him.
“That’s the heartbreaking part is it was somebody that he knew. Somebody he trusted,” she said.
Anyone with information on the suspect can contact [email protected] and reference case number 25-259043.
