A skip scanning suspect nabbed with stolen pork butt, brisket and ribeye steak complained that, “times are tough” when he was taken into custody at Walmart at Buffalo Ridge Plaza in The Villages.
Michael Alexis Rodriguez Matias, 50, of Summerfield, entered the store at about 9 p.m. Friday and loaded his cart with merchandise, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
Rodriguez Matias headed for the #13 self-service checkout where he began scanning and bagging merchandise. A loss prevention officer noticed something was amiss and suspected that Rodriguez Matias was not properly scanning all of the merchandise. The agent paused the machine and went to check on Rodriguez Matias, but the native of Puerto Rico said he did not need any assistance. The machine was reactivated, however, Rodriguez Matias was monitored and he only scanned about half of the merchandise in his cart.
He was apprehended when he tried to leave the store.
“Times are tough,” he said, according to the report.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that Rodriguez Matias had picked out pork butt, brisket and ribeye steak, but replaced their bar code pricetags with pricetags with significantly lower prices. Between skip scanning and the switched pricetags, he had deprived the store of more than $200.
He was arrested on a charge of theft and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. He was released after posting $150 bond.