A 35-year-old Ocala man was arrested Thursday morning after wrestling with and possibly biting a Best Buy store manager who stopped him from running out with more than $200 in merchandise.
James Joseph Parrott was charged with battery causing bodily harm, petit retail theft, and resisting a merchant. He’s being held in the Marion County Jail on $4,000 bond and will answer to the charges in Marion County Court on Feb. 13.
Parrott had already been detained and handcuffed by a Marion County sheriff’s sergeant by the time an Ocala Police officer arrived at the store, located at 2499 SW 27th Ave. A store security employee told the officer that Parrott had been in the store a few days earlier and the theft alarm went off when he left, but Parrott continued to leave when asked to stop, according to the police report.
The employee said when Parrott returned on Thursday, he watched him on surveillance video while the store manager followed him throughout the store. The security employee said he saw Parrott select a pair of Jabra Elite wireless headphones, valued at $119.99, and J5 HDMI mini dock, valued at $99.99. The total value of the items was $219.98, the report said.
The security employee said when Parrott got close to the exit, he concealed the items under the front of his sweatshirt without paying for them. The employee said he saw the store manager try to stop Parrott from leaving and the two of them starting to wrestle. He said a civilian and the sheriff’s sergeant helped detain Parrott, according to the report.
The store manager said he followed Parrott throughout the store due to the prior incident. He said he approached Parrott, who was carrying the items, and asked if he needed any assistance. The manager, who was dressed in a Best Buy uniform and wearing an employee identification badge, said Parrott asked him if there was a problem because he was following him throughout the store, and he replied that he wasn’t going to stop following him, the report said.
The manager said he saw Parrott conceal the merchandise in the front of his sweatshirt, and that’s when he stepped in front Parrott and ordered him to stop. He said he told Parrott he saw him conceal the merchandise and to hand it over, and Parrott tried to push past him, according to the report.
The manager said he reached into the front of Parrott’s jacket and removed the product, and Parrott rushed him to exit the store. The manager said he and Parrott started wrestling and he grabbed the front of Parrott’s shirt as they fell to the floor. He said he believed Parrott bit him, and the officer observed fresh bite impressions on his left forearm. The impressions didn’t break the skin and the manager declined medical attention. He said a civilian assisted in detaining Parrott until the sheriff’s sergeant applied the handcuffs, the report said.
After being read his Miranda rights, Parrott told the officer that he entered the store with the intention of stealing the items because he has fallen upon hard times. He said once the manager approached him and asked him to turn over the items, he dropped them on the floor and tried to leave the store. Parrott said the manager told him he wasn’t free to leave and the struggle ensued. He said he didn’t remember biting the manager’s forearm, but it might have accidentally ended up in his mouth and got bitten unintentionally, according to the report.
The officer observed the surveillance footage and placed Parrott under arrest.