A Leesburg man was arrested for theft after allegedly stealing a bicycle parked at Walmart.
An officer responded to Walmart, located at 2501 Citrus Blvd., for a bicycle theft involving 58-year-old Christopher Scott Buehrer around 6:05 p.m. Saturday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
The elderly owner described his bicycle as a black 29-inch Huffy with a blue stripe along the frame and a white-and-blue stripe near the front wheel. He had parked it near the entrance and went inside to buy a bicycle lock and maintenance items. When he came back outside, he discovered his bicycle was missing, the report said.
Loss prevention provided surveillance footage of the entrance area, showing when the owner parked his bicycle there. Buehrer approached the bicycle shortly after. He then mounted it and rode away from the parking lot, the report said.
An officer later recognized Buehrer from previous interactions and knew he frequented Sunshine Main Street Laundry, located at 2304 W Main St. Law enforcement responded to the laundromat to find Buehrer with the stolen bicycle, the report said.
Buehrer stated he did not steal it, claiming he bought it for $20 from someone across the street at Harbor Freight. He took the bicycle because he believed it was his own. He could only identify the seller as a man wearing a red hat, the report said.
A subsequent check of his criminal history determined he had three prior theft convictions from June 10, 2025, Sept. 30, 2025, and April 30, 2026. He had also been arrested recently on Jan. 8, Jan. 30 and June 11, the report said.
Buehrer was arrested on charge of petit theft (two or more prior convictions) and booked at the Lake County Jail. Due to being arrested three times in the last six months, he is being held without bond.
His prior arrests include shoplifting clothes from Marshalls in June 2026, theft in July 2025, and stealing from Rural King in April 2025.