Santino Burrola GoFundMe raises more than $19,000 as King Soopers employee fired for recording store thieves

On Wednesday, July 6, Alexia Gomez started a GoFundMe page for her cousin, Santino Burrola, a former King Soopers employee who was fired for recording two accused thieves as they fled the store. According to Fox Business, the management at the Colorado King Soopers decided to fire Gomez as his confrontation actions violated store policy.

A spokesperson for the business said that they already have preventive measures in place, and the vigilante actions of store employees can be counterproductive.

The fundraiser for Santino Burrola is aimed at helping him cover legal fees. Since he has been fired without severance pay, he is reportedly planning to move to Florida. As of July 7, the fundraiser has collected more than $19,000, exceeding its $10,000 target.

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Why did Santino Burrola get fired from King Soopers?

According to CBS, on an undisclosed date, Santino Burrola confronted the suspected shoplifters in the parking lot of King Soopers. He filmed the group as they allegedly loaded stolen detergent into their car. While Burrola did not physically engage with the group, he could be heard condemning their actions in the video.

"Really bro? You gotta resort to this? The economy's not that bad," Burrola said to the accused theives, as per the footage.

At one point, Burrola ripped off a piece of tinfoil that was covering the license plate of the alleged thieves. He later told CBS reporters that he was a former military police officer, and that confronting the accused thieves was something that came naturally to him.

He called the police, then recorded the footage in order to help spread awareness.

""I would never let any criminal conduct slide especially when it's happening right in front of me (...) My first instinct was to record (...) So I posted it on TikTok hoping that somebody would recognize them," Burrola said.

Shortly after the incident, Santino Burrola was shocked when he heard that King Soopers management had suspended him over the video. Within a week, they confirmed his termination.

The store explained to Burrola that it is against their policy for employees to go after suspected thieves. This could lead to legal issues against the management, especially if the suspects are innocent.

A King Soopers spokesperson said that this does not mean they are not committed to making retail shopping safer for the public.

"We are disappointed by the increased level of crime across retail establishments and the impact these incidents have on our associates and customers. We remain committed to working in partnership with local law enforcement to address this issue, as safety remains a top priority," a statement released by a spokesperson read.

Despite Burrola's termination, local authorities still used the license plates shown in the video to track down the suspects. They arrested the alleged driver of the car, 32-year-old Jorge Pantoja. The two other suspected thieves involved in the incident are still at large.