A Leesburg man was arrested for stealing over $200 worth of items from Walmart and then fleeing from law enforcement.
Officers responded to a theft in progress at Walmart, located at 2501 Citrus Boulevard, on Saturday evening, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department
Officers were advised of a man matching the description of 55-year-old Edwin Williams placing merchandise into a backpack and inside of his pants. They were also told that he was leaving the business through the garden center exit and had gotten into a black Chevy Malibu to leave the parking lot, the report said.
As one of the officers received this information from LPD, he saw a vehicle matching that description turn onto Citrus Boulevard after turning off South Dixie Boulevard in Fruitland Park, which was adjacent to the Walmart parking lot. The vehicle in question was observed in the middle lane of the southbound lanes at the traffic light of Citrus Boulevard and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the report said.
The report noted that as the officer was in the left-hand turn on Citrus Boulevard, the traffic light turned green, and as he turned onto Dr. MLK Jr. Boulevard, he was able to very visibly see the driver’s face through the front windshield. He had a top on that matched the description provided, the report said.
The vehicle was then seen making a right-hand turn off Citrus Boulevard onto Dr. MLK Jr. Boulevard. As the officer repositioned his vehicle behind the suspect vehicle, he tried to initiate a traffic stop near the entrance of the Leesburg Square Plaza. However, the vehicle in question made a left-hand turn into the plaza and eventually fled southbound on Citrus Boulevard, the report said.
The officer was able to get the first three characters of the tag but did not pursue the vehicle in question. He gave this information to the LPD Communications Center through his two-way radio, and they were able to find a vehicle with that partial tag that also matched the suspect vehicle’s description. Officers were advised of the possible tag number and given the registrant’s address of 908 McCormack Street in Leesburg, the report said.
An officer later advised the others that he saw the suspect vehicle traveling southbound on Citrus Boulevard but did not pursue it or attempt to initiate a traffic stop. He then advised that he would respond to the address on McCormack Street for further investigation, the report said.
More officers relocated to McCormack Street and met with Williams, although he told them his name was “Michael” and gave a false date of birth. After running his information through the LPD Communication Center, officers were told this information did not yield any results. Williams then gave a Social Security number found to belong to a white male out of Temple Terrace. This was clearly not the man that officers were in the presence of, the report said.
The report noted the man in this interaction was wearing a white shirt. One of the officers observed a black Chevy Malibu in the rear of residence with a tag number matching was officers were told. There was a green vest in plain sight inside the vehicle mentioned, which matched the color of the top that another officer observed him wearing during the attempted traffic stop, the report said.
At that point, the officer from the traffic stop arrived at McCormack Street and was immediately identify the male subject that officers were speaking to as the man driving the Malibu. Williams was subsequently detained in handcuffs and placed under arrest, the report said.
During the search incident to arrest, a black Chevrolet key fob was discovered in Williams’ front left pocket. Another officer was able to confirm that the key fob belonged to the suspect vehicle that the initial traffic stop was initiated on that the officer observed Williams being in possession of and conducting, the report said.
An officer proceeded to make contact with the registered owner of the vehicle who was Williams’ wife. She gave him verbal consent to enter the vehicle and recover any possible stolen items that were inside of the vehicle, the report said.
Williams was ultimately positively identified with his proper birthdate through his Florida ID online photograph. The LPD Communications Center later advised that he was also driving while his license was suspended. His 16 current suspensions date back to April 2017 through Feb. 2023, and he had six prior driving while license suspended convictions and four prior theft convictions, the report said.
While on scene on McCormack Street, officers also responded to Walmart and contacted the complainant. He stated that while patrolling the business, he observed Williams with an open backpack in his cart. He then observed Williams placing merchandise into the backpack and his pants, the report said.
Williams then passed all points of sale with the items and left the business through the garden center exit. As the suspect left the store, he dropped the backpack in the parking lot but still had the merchandise that was on his person that was not paid for. Williams then got into a black Chevy Malibu and left the parking lot area, the report said.
The complainant stated the stolen items he retrieved from the backpack that was dropped by Williams included a Black Quest backpack, two Spiderman action figure, a Barbie doll, two Marvel Spiderman Goo Jit Zu’s, a Pioneer speaker, two Barbie and Ken fashion items, five packs of socks, two Ken fashion items, a toddler toy, a package of Hanes briefs and a pair of slippers. Additionally, an officer on McCormack Street found a Better Cotton black t-shirt, a Better Cotton pink t-shirt and a pair of socks. The grand total of these items was $242.93, the report said.
The complainant was able to show an officer who had responded to Walmart the surveillance footage that showed Williams committing the theft and passing all points of sale with the items. He provided a CD containing a copy of the surveillance footage. A chain of custody property receipt was prepared for the stolen and recovered property that was returned to Walmart and the CD containing the surveillance footage evidence, the report said.
Williams was ultimately arrested on charges of retail theft (felony – two or more prior theft), resisting (obstructing without violence), false ID to law enforcement officer (arrest or lawfully detained), driving while license suspended (with knowledge) and failure to sign citation. He was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $12,000 bond.
