Michael Prince is a career thief with a resumé to back it up. The 36-year-old claims to have stolen over a million dollars in merchandise during a nine-year shoplifting spree, and he once allegedly walked out of the Canada-based Shoppers Drug Mart with two big-screen TVs.
Being a career criminal has its downsides, one of which is suffering the repercussions of getting caught. Back in February 2024, Prince allegedly stole a jacket from Dino’s Grocery Mart on Isabel Street in Winnipeg, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.
Tucked away in that jacket was a wallet and a key fob. About 30 minutes after he stole the coat, he circled back to the store to take the car associated with the fob.
Man Steals a Car, Gets Beaten Up, and Is Now Suing the Owners
Prince ran into some bad luck when a couple of other cars boxed in the car he wanted to steal. He got in the car anyway, triggered its alarm along with the pale blue Metal Gear-style exclamation points over the heads of around eight or nine store staff.
They quickly pulled him from the car and started wailing on him, pouring down a meteor shower of fists and feet. One of those store employees allegedly beat him with a hammer. It wasn’t very merciful.
Prince thinks the beating went a little too far and is now suing. His lawsuit claims that he blacked out after the beating and came to while in the middle of running away. He later discovered that he suffered severe head trauma, permanent hearing and vision loss, along with ongoing issues like migraines, insomnia, and panic attacks.
He’s suing for damages from Dino’s grocery store, its operator, Rajan Varma, and the group of employees who beat him, citing “loss of enjoyment of life,” an inability to work, and mental trauma. Though considering the guy was essentially a career criminal, one has to wonder if a loss of his ability to work is a bad thing.
Everything else seems a bit over the line, and perhaps a bit too street justice-y. Prince spent a day in the hospital, then went straight into custody.
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