A 47-year-old homeless man with two prior shoplifting convictions was arrested at an Ocala Walmart after being accused of stealing electronics and toiletries.
On Monday, February 20, shortly before 3:45 p.m., an Ocala Police Department officer responded to the Walmart located at 4980 E Silver Springs Boulevard due to a report that a suspicious male was concealing items.
Upon arrival, the officer observed a man, later identified as Andrew William Carter, exit the store. According to the OPD report, a store loss prevention associate was following Carter.
The officer made contact with Carter, placed him in handcuffs and escorted him to the store’s loss prevention office.
The loss prevention associate told the officer that Carter was seen taking two security cameras from the vehicle and a stereo head from the shelves. The associate reported that Carter placed the items in a gray backpack belonging to the store and headed toward the exit near the grocery department, according to the OPD report.
The associate informed the officer that Carter was also the suspect in another robbery that had occurred on Sunday, February 19th. According to the associate, Carter had arrived at the store with an orange shopping bag and was observed concealing numerous items, including lubricants and miscellaneous toiletries, in the orange bag. Carter then left the store without paying for the items and discarded the orange bag when employees tried to stop him.
The officer looked at the store’s video surveillance footage from the time of the robbery incident on February 20. In the OPD report, the officer observed Carter carrying the gray backpack and walking past the self-checkout registers toward the exit. As the loss prevention associate began to follow Carter out of the store, Carter dropped his backpack.
The associate provided the officer with an itemized receipt for the stolen items found inside the gray backpack. The store’s total loss was $159.92, according to the OPD report.
The officer then looked at the store’s surveillance footage from the time of the robbery incident on February 19. The officer noted in the report that Carter was observed leaving the store past all the outlets with the orange bag in hand. When two employees approached Carter, he was observed throwing the orange bag into a trash can.
The associate showed the officer an itemized receipt for the stolen items found inside the orange bag, and the store’s total loss was $120.92, according to the OPD report.
A criminal background check on Carter revealed that he had prior convictions for petit larceny in Bay County (2022) and grand larceny of a motor vehicle in Putnam County (2010).
The officer made contact with Carter. After being read his Miranda rights, Carter refused to answer any questions.
Carter was arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he is currently being held on $2,000 bond. He faces felony charges of second-degree petit larceny: third offense or subsequent offense (two counts).
A court date is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 28, according to jail records.
