Walmart Customer Caught Trying To Steal Suitcase Full of Meat: Police

A man has been arrested for the 70th time after he allegedly stole a large quantity of meat, according to Ohio police.

The South Euclid Police Department (SEPD) were called to a Walmart following reports that a shoplifter had been seen with a shopping cart filled with different cuts of meat that he had not paid for on Thursday, January 5.

A police spokesperson said in a Monday, January 9, Facebook post: "The male was then observed in the parking lot near Penn Station's dumpster, packing the meat inside the stolen suitcase.

"What he could not fit in the stolen suitcase, he discarded in the dumpster. The suspect abandoned the shopping cart in the parking lot after its security feature locked up its front wheel, which prevented him from continuing to push the shopping cart off Walmart's property."

According to police, the suspect was stopped by officers at a bus stop across the street from the Walmart.

He was later identified as a 62-year-old man from Garfield Heights and was found to have several outstanding warrants.

"The suspect said he typically sells the meat, which he steals, to restaurants who pay him half the face value marked on the price tags," SEPD said. "The suspect did not identify the restaurants."

According to the SEPD spokesperson, the suspect was charged with theft and this was the 70th time he had been arrested.

The SEPD said there had been 186 cases of theft in the city in 2021, one fewer than the 187 such incidents in 2020.

Statistics gathered by the department also found there were 49 reported cases of theft from a building in 2021, compared with 33 in 2020.

Newsweek has contacted the SEPD for comment.

In January 2022, an elderly woman stopped an alleged Walmart shoplifter by ripping off his balaclava.

The man was seen pushing a shopping cart filled with items toward the exit of a Canadian Walmart.

A man filming inside the Campbell River store could be heard asking the man in the balaclava if he planned on paying for the items, to which the man responded "yeah."

But an elderly woman appeared to be suspicious about his motives, blocked his path, and then ripped off his black ski mask.

With his face revealed, the man left without the shopping cart and was seen cycling away.

Cst. Maury Tyre of the Campell River Royal Canadian Mounted Police said while people could be frustrated about seeing shoplifting, they should not intervene.

He told CHEK: "Some of the individuals that are stealing and taking things, taking carts full, commonly carry knives or bear spray, and when people take matters into their own hands, they have to understand that there is an inherent risk and even sometimes liability when they do so."