A 35-year-old Ocala man was jailed last week after being accused of stealing groceries from a local Wal-Mart.
An asset protection officer at the store, located at 34 Bahia Ave., told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that Courtney Dejon Henderson, who lives at 14498 SW 68th Terr., entered the store shortly after 1 p.m. on Thursday and selected several items. She said he paid for some of the merchandise at a checkout station but didn’t ring up $99.19 worth of groceries and consumables, a sheriff’s office report states.
The asset protection officer said security footage showed Henderson “blatantly” placing unscanned items in bags before putting them in a grocery cart. She said he then attempted to leave the store but was stopped, the report says, adding that Henderson claimed he scanned all of the items and “they must have simply just not rung up for some reason.”
The deputy reviewed video surveillance footage which showed Henderson “clearly” not scanning multiple items. He then bagged them and placed the 22 items in his cart without “even coming close to the scanner at the register,” the report says.
After being read his rights, Henderson refused to speak with the deputy. A criminal background check showed that he had two prior convictions for theft. On July 2, 2002 he was arrested by Ocala Police and charged with petit theft. And on Sept. 17, 2002, he was arrested by Marion County sheriff’s deputies and charged with grand theft – a case where he was found guilty and convicted on July 17, 2003, the report says.
Henderson was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with larceny/petit theft (third or subsequent offense). He was released late Thursday night on $2,000 bond and his next court date hasn’t yet been set.