brooke@gilavalleycentral.net
SAFFORD – An alleged thief could not celebrate his independence from police custody July 4 after being caught red-handed with stolen merchandise from Walmart.
A Safford officer was dispatched to Walmart at 755 S. 20th Ave. regarding a man who attempted to return stolen merchandise before fleeing with the items on a bicycle.
According to a Safford Police report, the suspect, Wane Jones, allegedly picked up a clamp light and chainsaw off a store shelf and tried to return the items for cash. After being denied the return, Jones was confronted by employees as he exited the store. He refused their orders to return the merchandise, however, and fled.
Jones was soon located in the Lexington Pines Resort – a senior mobile home community adjacent to Walmart – and was taken into custody without incident. He was then booked into the Graham County Jail on charges of shoplifting and fraudulent schemes and artifices.
