A heartless thief posing as a good Samaritan stole nearly a thousand dollars from a Portland liquor store while an employee was suffering from a fatal heart attack.

Jason Hay, 53, died a week after going into cardiac arrest and collapsing behind the counter while working at Bins & Barrels southeast of downtown Portland on Oct. 25.

While another employee and customers raced to help Hay, one man took advantage of the emergency and began stealing from the store, KGW reported.

A suspected thief in a black jacket and red hoodie pats down Jason Hay after he collapsed inside a Portland liquor store on Oct. 25, 2025. KPTV Fox 15/YouTube

Acting as though he was checking Hay’s pulse, the unidentified thief patted the indisposed employee, searching for a wallet.

The other employee called out to the customers to grab Hay’s bag before he was placed in an ambulance, and then the thief took the time to rush to the back room of the store and begin his robbery.

The man, wearing a black jacket and red hoodie, stuffed bags of cash down his pants from the store’s safe that was left open, according to surveillance footage obtained by the outlet.

“This man used that to run into the back office and search the back office, looking for anything he could sell. He found my laptop bag,” store manager Michelle Maurer told KGW before revealing the thief found the open change safe.

The inconsiderate raider plundered approximately $800 from the store and escaped before anyone noticed.

Jason Hay died a week after suffering a heart attack inside Bins & Barrels on Oct. 25, 2025.

The suspected thief was caught on security cameras stuffing cash bags down his pants while good Samaritans helped Hay in front of the store. KPTV Fox 15/YouTube

Store employees didn’t realize they had been robbed until the next day.

“It wasn’t until I went to get change the next day that I found the bank bags missing, checked the cameras, and found out that we were hit during this event,” Maurer told the outlet.

“When I saw the video, I was heartbroken. I couldn’t believe that somebody could do that to this establishment, to my brother, while he was fighting for his life,” Hay’s sister, Jessica Jones, told KGW.

Hay died in the ICU a week after his heart attack, his family announced.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share that Jason passed away peacefully at 7 a.m. this morning,” his relatives wrote on a GoFundMe.

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Hay, who was well known in the community, had only been working at the store for a year.

“Jason was truly one of those rare lights in the dark — a kind, strong, and caring soul who touched so many lives. He fought with everything he had, and his strength and spirit will never be forgotten,” his family said.

Doctors amputated Hay’s right leg before his death after he developed a blood clot.

The inconsiderate raider plundered approximately $800 from the store and escaped before anyone noticed. KPTV Fox 15/YouTube

Hay, who was well known in the community, had only been working at the store for a year. GoFundMe

A memorial for Hay is set up on the store’s counter after his death. KPTV Fox 15/YouTube

Hay was the sole provider for his family and leaves behind his wife and 15-year-old son, KPTV reported.

“He made an effort to know every single person’s name who walked through that door,” a store employee at a vigil for Hay told the outlet.

“That’s the heartbreaking part is it was somebody that he knew. Somebody he trusted,” Jones said, believing her brother knew the suspected robber.

Portland police have not publicly identified the suspected thief and no charges have been filed yet.

An investigation is ongoing.