Bohemian Lair owner Bo Larsen shared Stanley's public apology with the world on Monday.
"My name is Tyler Stanley and I made the biggest mistake of my life," Stanley said during the Facebook Live recording. "I could have had a great job."
It was not disclosed what Stanley stole during his Saturday interview.
He returned to the store on Monday after learning his crime was caught on a surveillance camera. Although he admitted to stealing, he said he didn't remember committing the crime because he is bipolar.
"I really don't remember doing that. I would have never done that if I was in my right mind," Stanley told Larsen.
— James Sparvero (@News6James) February 13, 2018
Although the Facebook Live was shared thousands of times, Larsen decided to delete the video Tuesday because it attracted more attention than he wanted, News 6 reported.
Stanley is now banned from the majority of the smoke shops around Cocoa Village. However, instead of being arrested, he was merely charged with trespassing, thanks to his public apology.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Larsen wrote, "Well that Facebook live apology went viral 16k+ views in 24 hours, two major networks stopped by, who would have thought? Wanted to recoup the money for the item that was stolen and have the individual know we don't tolerate thefts, and to deter others."
"Hopefully he gets the help he needs and straightens out his life. Everyone deserves a 2nd chance. This WAS his chance here. Jail time or Facebook live apology? Cocoa thief picks public…" he added.
Some of the comments on the Wednesday post praised Larsen for cutting Stanley some slack, calling him a "hero within our industry!"
Others, on the other hand, chastised him.
"Let him off too easy. Way too easy. Even one day in jail is worse than having to admit you're a piece of s**t. If he had any morals or pride he wouldn't have been stealing in the first place. So I highly doubt you deterred him from doing it again. Gave him a ‘get out of jail free' card which will just embolden him. He was so high on xanax that he won't even remember it," one commenter wrote.
