Walmart burglary thwarted

Sarasota County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a man early this morning, after he robbed the Walmart located at 8320 Lockwood Ridge Road, in Manatee County.

A Manatee County Sheriff's Office report states authorities arrested 32-year-old Fred Jones around 3:33 a.m. today.

Jones stole $513.54 worth of goods from Walmart by placing them in a garbage can in his shopping cart and crossing all points of sale without paying. A loss-prevention officer at the store followed the suspect to his vehicle and confronted him. Jones told the man, "If you put a hand on me, I'll shoot you," the report states. The officer let Jones go.

The suspect fled to Sarasota County, where the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office initiated a pursuit of the suspect for unrelated charges. Sarasota deputieds located the stolen property in the vehicle and notified the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, which then responded to the traffic stop.

The stolen merchandise from Walmart was returned.

No one was injured during the incident. The suspect had an outstanding felony warrant, the report states.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].