A 52-year-old-man was arrested on a charge of felony retail theft last week Friday at the Leesburg Walmart.
Leesburg police were called to the store late Friday evening by a Walmart loss prevention officer who observed a man, later identified as Charles Franklin Newman, scanning items at the self check out station at the front of the store. The employee watched Newman scan one item and then place another unscanned item in a bag with the item he just scanned. When Newman left the store he was stopped by Walmart employees who escorted him to the loss prevention office. The loss prevention employee provided the Leesburg officer with a list of items which Newman tried to steal. The 19 items had a total value of $161.12.
When the officer transported Newman to the Lake County Jail a records check showed that he had three prior theft convictions. He was charged with a third degree retail theft felony. Bond was set at $2,000 which he posted.
