A man was arrested Thursday after making a fraudulent return at a Wal-Mart in Ocala.
Marion County sheriff’s deputies responded to the Wal-Mart located at 9570 SW Hwy. 200 in reference to a theft.
Upon arrival, deputies made contact with the store’s asset protection associate, who told deputies that he observed 39-year-old Demetrius Jamal Rose of Ocala and a female enter the Way-Mart on Dec. 13 around 7:14 p.m. on the video surveillance system, the report stated. The associate stated that Rose and the female entered the store without any items in their hands or cart and proceeded to walk through the store. The pair then placed a blender valued at $159.43 in the cart and walked to the front of the store, passing through the cashiers’ area without stopping and paying for the blender. The pair walked to the customer service area and Rose returned the item without a receipt using a Florida identification card. He received a Wal-Mart gift card for the blender’s value and the pair exited the store.
Deputies positively identified Rose by running the identification card’s number and matching his photo to the suspect in the surveillance footage. They then located Rose at the address listed on his identification card. Rose advised deputies that he remembered being at the Wal-Mart with his niece during the date and time of the incident. He stated he went to the customer service desk to return something for his niece but he was not aware that the niece had failed to purchase the item from Wal-Mart.
After running an in-house records search of Rose, it showed that he has had two prior theft convictions from previous cases. Rose was placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail. Bond was set at $2,000.