A homeless man in Leesburg was arrested after pushing Mama Mia Pizza’s owner into the bushes when asked to pay for his $51 meal.
Officers responded to Mama Mia Pizza, located at 755 N 14th St., for a theft involving 51-year-old Robert Eugene Marks around 8:05 p.m. Friday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
Upon arrival, one officer met with the owner and an employee while others found Marks across the street at the Social Security Office, located at 900 N 14th St. The employee advised that Marks came into the restaurant at 5 p.m. and ordered a $12.00 Greek salad, a $3.50 Pepsi, a $28 ribeye and a $7.50 chocolate explosion. He ate for about three hours before going to the bathroom, the report said.
When he came back, the employee asked if he needed anything else. He said he did not and would pay at the front counter when he left. However, as he went to go, he told her that he left the payment inside the wine book on the table. She checked but found nothing, the report said.
The employee asked Marks to stop before he went out the door, yet he refused to do so. He left through the front entrance and walked through the parking lot. The owner followed him, asking that he come back inside and pay the bill, the report said.
Marks told the owner that he was not returning to pay and used both hands to push him into the bushes. He cursed at the owner before running across the street, out of sight, the report said.
A criminal history check revealed Marks had a prior battery conviction on Nov. 6, 2024, as well as theft convictions from May 27, 2022, and Dec. 16, 2024, the report said.
Marks was arrested on charges of simple battery (one prior conviction), defrauding innkeeper and retail theft (resists merchant). He was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $6,000.
He was also arrested for grabbing an employee’s buttocks at Dollar General in Nov. 2024, for possession of methamphetamine in May 2023, and stealing a car in July 2021.