A Safford police officer was called to Walmart last Thursday at approximately 10:45 p.m. in reference to a shoplifter. When the officer arrived, an asset protection employee used the store’s camera system to show him an older Caucasian male, wearing a camo jacket and blue jeans hanging around the self-checkout area. The asset protection employee said that the suspect had concealed several items.
The asset protection employee told the officer that the man had been in the store earlier and had stolen a jumper box from the automotive department. The officer was shown some images of the man from the earlier incident, which matched the live images of the man the officer was seeing while in the store.
The officer and asset protection employee waited until the man left the point of sale area. Then the asset protection employee contacted the man and asked him to come to the security office. The man was identified by a Texas ID card as Bobbie Don Taylor.
The man had paid cash for a six pack of beer but had stolen a pair of Wrangler jeans. The man told the officer that he had stolen the jeans because he was supposed to get a job in town but things didn’t work out and he needed some clothes. The officer asked the man about the jumper box he had stolen earlier. The man said that he was hoping to sell it for cash and that the jumper box was in his van in the parking lot.
The officer ran Taylor’s name through dispatch and confirmed that the man had a parole warrant out of Texas. He was cited for shoplifting and booked in the Graham County Jail for the parole warrant. The six pack of beer was left in the van and the other merchandise was returned to Walmart.
