A pair with previous theft convictions was arrested at Wal-Mart at Buffalo Ridge Plaza in The Villages.
Ray Fritz Dearth, 48, of Wildwood, and Deborah Frances Benafield, 30, of Belleview, were in the store Wednesday afternoon when a loss prevention officer spotted them removing merchandise from packaging and putting the items into plastic bags, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. They walked out of the store with the items, which had a total value of $214.45.
A check revealed Dearth had three previous theft convictions in Pennsylvania and Benafield had been convicted of grand theft in 2012.
Both were taken into custody and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. His bond was set at $2,000. Her bond was set at $1,000.