MESA, Ariz. — Michael Jacobs was a husband, a father of two, and a son.
He worked at CVS Pharmacy for more than two decades. On Thursday he was shot and killed while on the job by a man suspected of shoplifting.
“He dedicated his life to us and his job,” Michael’s 16-year-old son Gabe, told 12News. “We never celebrated Christmas on Christmas day. It would always be Christmas Eve because it was always grandfathered in that he’d be working.”
The 49-year-old was the Operations Manager at the Mesa Drive and Brown Road location. It was there that his family found out about his death. They drove to the store when Mike, as they lovingly call him, never came home from work.
“He was just a perfect person,” Gabe said about his father. “He’d teach us about sacrifice, living, and to be authentically good as a person.”
'He was executed'
Mesa Police said 38-year-old Jared Sevey opened fire inside the business just after 8 p.m. on Sept. 7. Four bullets struck Mike. He was taken to a hospital, but doctors couldn’t save him.
The suspect had allegedly been at the store four hours prior and was suspected of shoplifting. Police said the store declined to prosecute and he was let go, but a trespass order was filed.
Sevey went home after that incident, grabbed his gun, and returned to the store, arresting records said.
Surveillance video showed the suspect walking into the CVS and standing by the counter, police told 12News.
Sevey asked the store employee to call Mike and to get customers out of the store, the court document said. Video surveillance showed the suspect waited until the manager arrived at the front of the store. That’s when the suspect pulled out a pistol from his waistband, racked the slide, chambered a round, and pointed the firearm at the manager, documents said.
Witnesses reported four shots were fired at Mike as he tried to flee from the suspect, who followed him and continued shooting.
Sevey took off on foot from the store and was arrested nine minutes after the shooting, as he tried to throw away the weapon into a nearby canal, police said.
Court records said Sevey made spontaneous statements to officers telling them “I’m guilty,” “I planned it,” and “I bet he ain’t talking s*** no more.”
During a post-Miranda interview, Sevey stated that during the shoplifting call earlier in the day, Michael Jacobs had “swung” at him, but did not hit him, documents said.
The suspect told detectives that the incident with the manager was the “last straw” and that prior to that, “he had told himself that the next guy who ‘touched’ him would ‘feel like he feels.’”
“He was executed,” said Mike’s father-in-law Ruben. “He didn’t deserve what happened to him. He was just an outgoing person. He was the best son-in-law someone could wish for.”
Remembering Michael Jacobs
Even though Michael Jacobs had worked at CVS Pharmacy for over two decades, that job didn’t define him.
The father of two loved the Arizona Cardinals and the Phoenix Suns. He was an avid photographer and played the guitar. Also, he enjoyed finishing, spending time with his children, watching movies, and going on dates with his wife.
“We did everything together,” said Stacy, who had been married to the manager for 23 years. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without Mike. I don’t know.”
As much as he loved to care for his family, he also went the extra mile for his customers, she said.
“He repaired the customer's cars,” Stacy said. “He’s taken wheelchairs to people’s houses if they don’t have transportation or changed their tires.”
Mike was also a good cook, who enjoyed baking. He loved his two dogs, Roxy and Kwasi.
A call for answers
As the family begins to grieve, they want answers.
“How did they let Mike get murdered like this?” Stacy told 12News. “I have tons and tons of questions.”
The family wants to know why the 49-year-old was murdered on the job, even after the suspect had been trespassed from the property during the shoplifting incident hours before the shooting.
They want to understand why, instead of alerting the police, employees called Mike up to the front of the store when the suspect asked for him by name.
“When he asked for Mike by name, that should have been a red flag,” Ruben, the father-in-law said. “How was this allowed to happen? They brought him up there and he was executed.”
The family said the company has also not contacted them regarding the incident, nor provided any financial assistance to cover the funeral.
In a statement to 12News, Mike DeAngelis, a CVS spokesperson said, “That is not accurate.”
“We have spoken to Michael’s wife and are assisting her with access to various benefits,” DeAngelis said.
He said the company would be making additional outreach to the family.
When 12News asked about the company's policy regarding shoplifters, training, and if they are conducting an internal investigation into the matter, the spokesperson declined to comment.
“To see my kids without their father will be hurting me for the rest of my life,” Stacy said. “We are going to miss him.”
The family has set up this GoFundMe account to fundraise for funeral expenses.
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