A 35-year-old man was arrested after a loss prevention officer at an Ocala Walmart allegedly watched the man conceal over $880 worth of groceries inside coolers and leave the store without paying.
On Wednesday, March 27, at around 7:20 p.m., an Ocala Police Department officer responded to the Walmart located at 4980 E Silver Springs Boulevard in reference to a theft that had just occurred. A male suspect, identified as Albert Horatio Morrison, had already been detained by the time the officer arrived at the store, according to the arrest report.
When the officer entered the store, Morrison’s two “full” shopping carts were observed, which were filled with miscellaneous grocery items and two coolers. The report stated that the total cost of the stolen items was $883.59.
The officer made contact with Morrison, who had already been read his Miranda rights. Morrison told the officer that he “just walked out the store with his cart and never stopped at the registers,” according to the report.
Morrison further stated that he did have money, though he admitted that he did not attempt to pay for the stolen items. The officer noted that Morrison had traveled to the store by himself.
A loss prevention associate at the store informed the officer that Morrison had been observed stuffing packages of meat into a plastic container. The container then proceeded to break, and Morrison retrieved the two coolers that the officer had observed in the shopping carts, according to the report.
The report stated that the store’s video surveillance footage showed Morrison grabbing the coolers that were used to conceal the items at around 6:15 p.m. The footage then showed Morrison walking past the registers and exiting the store with the unpaid items shortly before 6:55 p.m.
Morrison was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail. He was released from jail the following day after posting a $2,500 bond, and he is facing a felony charge for retail grand theft.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.