A top editor at The Villages Daily Sun arrested in May on a theft charge has been granted early termination of his probation.
Scott Albert, 55, who at the time of his May 23 arrest was as an associate managing editor at the newspaper, had been sentenced in June to serve two weekends with the Sumter County Work Detail. His court file reflects that he completed those weekends in June.
In July, Albert won early release from probation.
The native of Port Huron, Mich. had carried a red backpack into Bealls on U.S. Hwy. 441 in Lady Lake, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Albert selected a pair of khaki pants and a blue polo shirt and went into a fitting room. The store’s loss prevention officer saw the Village of Mira Mesa renter come out of the fitting room with the khaki pants, but not the blue polo shirt. There was an empty hanger in the fitting room.
Albert went to the checkout lane and paid for the khaki pants, but not the polo shirt, which was concealed in his backpack, the report said.
The loss prevention officer stopped Albert in the parking lot and called law enforcement.
The shirt was valued at $20.
Albert was arrested on a charge of petit theft.
Albert joined the management team at the Daily Sun earlier this year after leaving his job at The Blade in Toledo, Ohio. He previously worked at the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Orange County Register in California.
