POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Former Haines City Police officer was arrested over the weekend, accused of committing multiple thefts at a local Walmart using the store’s self-checkout service.
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According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to the Walmart on Church Avenue in Mulberry after security officers at the store stopped a couple who attempted to leave with several unscanned items.
The Walmart employees told deputies they had approached the couple and made them aware of the unscanned items, but they continued to bag additional items without scanning them after the employee walked away.
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Walmart security stopped the couple as they attempted to leave and detained them until Polk County deputies arrived.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, 48-year-old David Griffin and 28-year-old Shelbi Dubose scanned and paid for approximately $200 dollars worth of merchandise, but failed to scan another $343 worth before attempting to leave the store.
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After checking the store’s records of Griffin’s debit card usage and reviewing surveillance video of the transactions, deputies found four other instances of Griffin committing similar thefts in October and November, with Dubose present on three of those occasions.
Griffin was arrested and charged with five counts of petit retail theft, a second-degree misdemeanor. Dubose was charged with four counts of the same crime.
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Polk County deputies say they later learned Griffin was employed as a police officer in Haines City.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, he resigned from the police department after he was arrested.
“I want to assure the public that we hold our officers to the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct,” Haines City police Chief Greg Goreck said in a statement after the arrest. “Let it be known, had Officer Griffin not resigned, his removal from duty would have been swift and decisive.”
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