A Leesburg man was arrested when he returned to Rural King after allegedly visiting the store two days earlier and stealing merchandise.
Officers responded to Rural King, located at 1715 Citrus Blvd., regarding a possible retail theft around 1:10 p.m. Sunday, March 30, according to an arrest report. The suspect’s description was later found to match that of 57-year-old Christopher Scott Buehrer.
The officers were told Buehrer was leaving the store and walking toward a vehicle in the parking lot. When they got there, a manager was pointing at a vehicle that was leaving the area. An officer stopped the vehicle, and Buehrer was asked to step out. He was then handcuffed and escorted back into the store’s loss prevention office, the report said.
The officers proceeded to speak with two managers and were advised that Buehrer had been in the business with a cart full of items. They were told by another employee that he was in the store, as they were aware he had previously stolen from there on March 25. Buehrer left the cart inside the store and went to leave by himself, possibly due to noticing loss prevention following him. Law enforcement was subsequently contacted, the report said.
The second manager described the previous theft incident from March 25. Buehrer was in the Milwaukee brand aisle when he put two boxes in his shopping cart. He then walked out the front doors of the store without paying. Law enforcement was contacted that day, too, but no report was made due to not knowing what was stolen, the report said.
Both managers had reviewed the footage and could identify the suspect from the March 25 theft as Buehrer. After the store inventoried the area, the two stolen items were identified as a $379 Milwaukee M18 Framing Nailer and a $749 Milwaukee six-piece tool set. The officers watched the footage from March 25 and clearly identified the suspect as Buehrer, the report said.
Buehrer was subsequently arrested on charge of grand retail theft (greater than $750). He was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $2,500 bond.