A Leesburg man was arrested on a charge of retail theft after allegedly stuffing his pants with stolen clothes and running away from Walmart employees.
Police responded to Walmart, located at 2501 Citrus Boulevard, in reference to an active retail theft at 10:48 p.m. Sept. 22, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. The caller advised that a man matching 52-year-old Clarence Oneal Green’s description stuffed clothing inside his pants.
Upon arrival, the officer observed Green fleeing on foot from the Walmart loss prevention officer. The employee pointed at Green as he was vacating the area towards Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. As the officer exited his patrol car, he called out to Green to get on the ground. He refused to listen to the command and ran towards the rear of Walmart, the report said.
At that point, another officer arrived on scene and chased Green on foot. He yelled out to Green to stop or he would be tased. When Green looked back and noticed the closing distance, he stopped and laid on the ground in the middle of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. He was immediately detained, the report said.
The officer noticed Green’s pants were stuffed with clothing as he assisted him to his feet. This prompted a search where the officer found two green men’s shorts, two green men’s hoodies and two pairs of men’s underwear. The stolen items totaled $137.96 in value, the report said.
The loss prevention employee later explained that at about 10:40 p.m., he was informed by another employee that Green was seen running with a shopping cart in the men’s apparel section. He selected items at random. From the infant apparel section, the loss prevention officer observed Green concealing items within his pants. He then told another employee to call law enforcement, the report said.
Green proceeded with this empty cart through the self-checkout lanes without making any attempt to buy the concealed items. Once he walked past all points of sale, the loss prevention officer identified himself and requested that Green follow him to his office. He followed until the entry/exit doors opened, the report said.
Green began to run towards the doors, and the loss prevention officer held his arms out to stop him from leaving. He ran around the officer, out the doors and toward Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd until being detained shortly after by officers on scene, the report said.
A check revealed that Green had three prior theft convictions out of Lake County, the report said. These included a grand theft conviction from January 2013 and two petit theft convictions from June 2015 and March 2023. He was also arrested in April 2022 for suspected shoplifting. Further research showed Green is on felony probation for petit theft (third conviction) until March 2026.
Green was subsequently arrested and charged with retail theft (two or more prior theft), retail theft (resist merchant) and resisting (obstructing without violence). He was transported to the Lake County Jail where he was being held without bond due to a probation violation.
