A 21-year-old shoplifting suspect was caught by Marion County deputies after he allegedly walked past cash registers at an Ocala Walmart with a full shopping cart and ran into a waiting getaway car.
On Sunday, July 12, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy rushed to the Walmart located at 34 Bahia Avenue following reports of a grand theft in progress. An employee advised that a man, later identified as Javarious Ty’keem Hatley, was actively shoplifting inside the store, according to the arrest report.
The employee alleged that Hatley loaded a “large quantities of items” into his shopping cart before walking straight past all points of sale and exiting the store. When the employee tried to stop him at the exit, Hatley reportedly sprinted through the parking lot and jumped into a waiting black sedan that was driving the wrong way.
The responding deputy arrived at the store just as the employee pointed out the fleeing vehicle. The deputy followed the black sedan and initiated a traffic stop at the intersection of Midway Road and SE Maricamp Road, according to the report.
Upon approaching the vehicle, the deputy noted that the driver and front-seat passenger did not match the description of the shoplifter. However, when the deputy requested for the driver to roll down the vehicle’s heavily tinted rear windows, Hatley was allegedly observed sitting in the back seat.
The report mentioend that Hatley’s clothing matched a description provided by the employee who had attempted to stop him in the store.
Though Hatley initially denied that he had been at the store at the time of the theft, a second deputy reviewed Walmart’s surveillance footage and positively identified him as the suspect in this case, according to the report.
After being read his Miranda rights, Hatley allegedly told deputies he is homeless and confessed to the theft. When investigators asked him why he ran from the employee, Hatley reportedly stated he did not know, adding, “I have a case now, I guess.”
According to the report, the total value of the unpaid merchandise found in Hatley’s shopping cart was $1,167.96.
Hatley was placed under arrest and booked into Marion County Jail, where he remains in custody on a $2,500 bond. He is being charged with grand theft of property valued between $750 and $5,000, which is a felony.
A court date for Hatley has not yet been scheduled, according to jail records.