A native of Nigeria has been arrested following a pair of shoplifting incidents at the Target at Trailwinds Village in Wildwood.
Obinna Kalu Kalu, 30, who lives in The Mark apartments in Wildwood, was taken into custody on Sunday afternoon by officers from the Wildwood Police Department after he was intercepted by the store’s asset protection manager.
According to the arrest reports, Kalu was observed on security cameras at a self-checkout lane performing “ticket switch fraud.” Kalu used a pack of chewing gum to cover the barcodes of other merchandise, repeatedly scanning the gum while bagging two Goodfellow T-shirts, Colgate toothpaste, and a toothbrush. The unpaid merchandise was valued at nearly $60.
While Kalu was detained in the store’s asset protection office, staff reviewed prior security footage and discovered he had used the exact same method on June 28. During that incident, Kalu was caught on camera scanning a package of gum while intentionally failing to scan two boxes of Hanes underwear valued at $51.
After being read his Miranda rights, Kalu admitted to the thefts. He repeatedly apologized to the police, stating he had made a poor decision and was just attempting to obtain essential items.
He was arrested on two counts of second-degree petit theft and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. He was released after posting $1,000 bond.