A Villager has paid $628 in fines and court costs after skip scanning at Walmart.
Andrew Kevin Barrett, 62, of the Village of De La Vista North, pleaded no contest to a charge of theft this past week in Sumter County Court. It was his first offense and he paid the fines and court costs.
Barrett fled the Walmart at Buffalo Ridge Plaza at about 8 p.m. Aug. 30 in a white Toyota Tundra pickup, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. He was stopped by a deputy on County Road 466. The New Hampshire native was identified by his Boston ball cap.
A Walmart loss prevention officer contacted law enforcement after Barrett was observed performing suspicious scanning in the self-checkout lane. He did not scan multiple items in the top of the cart. In addition, he “scanned a container of grapes that had a barcode for bananas and placed a single peach on the scale for the weight instead of the grapes, which are charged by weight,” the report said. The incident was captured on video surveillance.
In 2023, he was arrested on drug charges in The Villages.