A convicted thief from Leesburg was one of two men caught trying to steal from the Leesburg Walmart last Friday.
Jacob Byron Stewart, 39, of 11550 Fairmont Ave., was charged with felony retail theft (two or more prior convictions) and a pair of probation violations. He was previously convicted of theft in 2005, 2011 and 2016.
His accomplice – 51-year-old Douglas Karst, also of Leesburg – was only issued a misdemeanor citation because he has just one prior theft conviction dating back to 2015. Karst found himself back in trouble just days after being arrested when police found drugs in his possession while picking him up on an active warrant.
A security employee at the store, located at 2501 Citrus Blvd., told a Leesburg police officer he was watching the store’s security cameras when he saw Stewart and Karst pulling tags off several pieces of merchandise. While they were in the shoe department, Stewart took a shirt he had previously grabbed off a clothing rack and put it over a shirt he was wearing, according to the police report.
While in the grocery section, Stewart and Karst concealed multiple food items in a bag. They then went to the self-checkout lane and mis-scanned numerous items. Stewart and Karst then left the store, passing all points of sale without trying to pay for the mis-scanned or concealed items. There were 16 items with a total value of $77.22 that were either mis-scanned or concealed, the report said.
Stewart is being held without bond in the Lake County Jail due to his probation violations. He’s due to appear in Lake County Court on Aug. 1, while Karts will face his misdemeanor charge in court on Aug. 3.
