Pregnant clerk stops Palmdale shoplifter by grabbing AC unit from his van

A pregnant employee at a Palmdale, California hardware store wrestled a 46-pound air conditioner away from a suspected shoplifter, an incident captured on surveillance video. The confrontation occurred outside the Ace Hardware store at Rancho Vista Plaza. The four-month pregnant employee followed the man after he allegedly took the unit from a shelf and walked toward the exit. Video shows her catching up with him in the parking lot and pulling the unit from his grasp as he tried to load it into a van. Store manager Carlos Morales said theft has increased monthly, prompting heightened security measures like locking merchandise. He praised the employee's instinctive actions, despite criticism she risked her safety, saying "Evil will always prevail when good people do nothing."