A Leesburg man was arrested for retail theft after unboxing $66 in merchandise, stuffing it all in his pockets and trying to flee from Walmart.
Officers responded to Walmart, located at 2501 Citrus Blvd., regarding a retail theft around 2 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. A loss prevention employee advised that 21-year-old Bryce Thomas Howard was concealing unpaid items in his jacket.
The employee saw Howard leaving through the general merchandise exit, bypassing all points of sale. After identifying himself, the employee questioned him about the items hidden in his jacket. He instead began to walk away toward the parking lot, the report said.
The employee notified an officer about Howard leaving, and the officer gave verbal commands to Howard who then fled the area. The officer pursued Howard across the parking lot, ultimately apprehending and detaining him in handcuffs, the report said.
Upon the arrival of another officer, the employee gave law enforcement access to surveillance footage showing Howard in the electronics section picking up four boxes from a shelf. He went to the hardware section and took the items out from their original packaging to put in his jacket pockets, the report said.
Howard was subsequently arrested and searched, revealing a $14.97 Anker iPhone charger, a $31.42 wireless hands-free car kit and two pairs of $9.88 ONN wireless earbuds in his jacket pockets. The employee found the open boxes in the hardware section and matched them to the items discovered in Howard’s pockets. The total value came to $66.15, the report said.
Howard was charged with petit retail theft (less than $750), resisting (obstructing without violence) and retail theft (resists merchant). He was transported to Lake County and released after posting $2,000 bond.