A Leesburg teen will appear in court for the theft of $13 in food from Walmart.
Loss prevention of Walmart, located at 2501 Citrus Blvd., told dispatch that 18-year-old Zachary Bohnert and his female companion were in the store around 9:10 p.m., March 30, according to a case report from the Leesburg Police Department. The former was concealing items in his clothes, and the store wanted both of them to be trespassed.
When an officer arrived, he learned the two had fled the store and were getting into a silver Dodge Charger in the parking lot. He turned down their row to see a man standing beside Bohnert as he entered the vehicle. The officer turned on his emergency lights, but the vehicle started to drive away toward Citrus Boulevard, the report said.
Bohnert accelerated hard and got up to a high speed to separate himself from the officer. He then went south toward the intersection with Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, where he got into the left turn lane and went through the light. This information was given to dispatch before the officer ended his pursuit in favor of speaking with loss prevention at Walmart, the report said.
The officer subsequently met with loss prevention and the other man who was with Bohnert prior to him fleeing the scene. This individual was identified as an off-duty deputy with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. He had recognized Bohnert from previous interactions and saw loss prevention trying to stop him, the report said.
When the deputy confronted Bohnert about the theft, he stated he was stealing because he did not “have any money.” The deputy was able to get Bohnert to take the items out of his jacket, which he put on the vehicle, just as the officer arrived. Bohnert forcibly opened the door of his vehicle, got inside and fled, the report said.
A loss prevention employee was able to recover the items that fell off Bohnert’s vehicle in the parking lot, totalling $13.07 in strawberries, confection sprinkles and cookie dough. Surveillance footage showed Bohnert pushing a woman in a shopping cart. She did not conceal anything, but he did up until he ran from loss prevention, the report said.
After leaving the scene, deputies were able to get in touch with the woman from the store. She contacted Bohnert, who came to her home in Leesburg, the report said.
Bohnert was subsequently given misdemeanor citations for retail theft and resisting a merchant. He is due in court on April 15.