A local man was arrested Thursday after allegedly stealing more than $700 in merchandise and beating a Staples’ loss prevention officer in the parking lot.
On Thursday afternoon officers responded to the Staples office supply store on River Road on what was initially reported as a retail theft, according to the probable cause statement filed with the court.
Officers arrived to learn that a suspect had reportedly entered the store, filled a shopping cart with merchandise and then walked out without paying for the items. He was then confronted by one of the store’s loss prevention officers as he was loading the items into his car.
When confronted, the suspect began to punch the employee “in the face — repeatedly,” the officer wrote, which is when the store manager stepped in and attempted to intervene. The suspect allegedly pushed the manager as employees called 911.
The recorded 911 call included a 3-minute segment in which both the suspect and the store manager could be heard speaking in the background. The recording of that conversation was turned over to police and a written account of the exchange was included in the report…Â Â Â St George News