A homeless man in Leesburg was arrested for shoplifting when a Walmart employee caught him hiding more than $155 worth of merchandise in a backpack.
According to a police report from Leesburg Police, officers responded to Walmart at 2501 Citrus Boulevard around 11:43 a.m. on Wednesday for a theft. The caller, an employee of the company, reported that a man later matching the description of 36-year-old Jared Obrien Morris was hiding items in a black backpack inside the store. He left the store without paying and was observed sitting at a bus stop next to Walmart.
When officers arrived, they found Morris sitting at the bus stop wearing the same clothing the employee described. His name and date of birth were given to dispatch, who reported that there was an Orange County warrant for his arrest. He was subsequently taken into custody in light of the warrant, the report states.
According to the Walmart employee, Morris was carrying a black backpack. His belongings were searched during the arrest and items possibly stolen from the store were found in the backpack, the report states.
Morris was read his rights and asked to speak to law enforcement. He stated the items were stolen from another store, but refused to tell officers where they came from. They told him they would find out where the items were stolen, at which point he stated that all of the items in the backpack came from Walmart, the report said.
An officer contacted the caller, who was in charge of loss prevention at Walmart. He stated that while conducting surveillance of the store, he noticed Morris quickly selecting items in the clothing department and hiding them in a black backpack. From there, he walked out the side door of the grocery store, exited the building and passed all of the merchandise points without paying for any of the hidden items. At that point, the loss prevention officer called police, the report states.
The stolen items included underwear, boxer shorts, girls’ socks and baby wipes. The total value of all stolen items was $157.65, the report said.
The officer reviewed surveillance footage that corroborated the anti-theft officer’s statement. A copy was submitted as evidence, and the anti-theft officer prepared a sworn written statement expressing the store’s intent to press charges, the report said.
A check of Morris’ criminal record revealed he had three previous convictions for theft, including a guilty plea to grand theft on June 29, 2006, petty theft on Jan. 5, 2020, and petty theft in transportation of agricultural goods (two previous convictions for theft) on April 4, 2021, the report said.
Morris was subsequently arrested and charged with shoplifting (a felony, two or more prior convictions for theft). He was taken to the Lake County Jail with bail set at $2,500.
