A Summerfield man was arrested last week after he was caught with $44.37 worth of groceries from a Belleview supermarket.
A Belleview Police officer was called to Publix at 10135 U.S. Hwy. 441 last Wednesday night and when he arrived, the manager said he had spotted 59-year-old James Earl Peronto on one of the aisles. He said Peronto had committed a retail theft at the store in the past and wasn’t welcome there, a Belleview Police report states.
The manager said he watched Peronto leave the store without paying for some items. He said Peronto told him, “Oh, I must have grabbed the wrong shopping cart.” He said his corporate manager wanted to press charges and also have Peronto trespassed from the store, the report says.
Peronto told the officer he understood what he did was wrong and he was going through a rough time due to his son dying. He was then issued a trespass warning, placed under arrest and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with retail theft. He was released Thursday morning on $1,000 bond and his next court date hasn’t yet been set, jail records show.