A 52-year-old woman and 27-year-old man were arrested after they allegedly failed to scan and pay for $57.33 worth of items before leaving an Ocala Wal-Mart.
Maria Carida Santigo-Saez and Christopher Shawntavio Reed, who both live at 5238 NW 65th St. in Ocala, were charged with second-degree petit theft (first offense) after the incident, which happened Tuesday afternoon at the Wal-Mart store located at 34 Bahia Ave.
A security employee at the store told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy she saw Santigo-Saez and Reed fail to scan the items. She said the couple placed the items in grocery bags and tried to leave the store, passing all points of sale, before she stopped them. The employee provided security footage that showed them failing to scan the items, according to the sheriff’s office report.
Reed told the deputy that he and Santigo-Saez were just in a hurry and didn’t intend to take anything. He said they tried to check the balance to make sure everything was correct. Santigo-Saez gave the same explanation. The store employee later informed the deputy that the couple did question their balance, but it was in reference to a $5 charge not covered by their EBT card, not in reference to unscanned items, the report said.
Santigo-Saez and Reed were taken to the Marion County Jail. Santiga-Saez was released Wednesday on $500 bond, while Reed was released Saturday on $500 bond. Hill is scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on Feb. 18. No court information was available for Santiga-Saez.