A shoplifting suspect was nabbed last week after he forgot his Bible at the crime scene in Texas and returned to retrieve it, the Wichita Falls Times Record News reported.
Joshua Jerome Wilhoit, 27, of Dana Point, California, was arrested last week and charged with a Class B misdemeanor theft of property valued at more than $100 but less than $750 and booked into the Wichita County Jail on $500 bond, according to the newspaper.
Wichita County Sheriff's Office records this week showed that Wilhoit was no longer at the jail.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Walmart employees told police that Wilhoit was spotted walking around the store placing items into a bag, including clothes, food, and electronics totaling $108.32, the Times Record News stated.
Wilhoit then proceeded to walk by all registers until he was confronted by store employees. He eventually left after workers confiscated the bag of swiped goods.
As police were en route after being called by store personnel, Wilhoit reportedly returned to the store to pick up the Bible he initially left there, the Times Record News reported.
Authorities spotted a man matching his description nearby Walmart, when the suspect started running. After darting behind several stores and jumping fences, he led police into a thick wooded area where he was ultimately captured, the Times Record News said.
KFDX/KJTL-TV reported that police searched for Wilhoit for about an hour before finally taking him into custody.
Bloomberg reported in 2016 that police reports from dozens of stores suggest the number of petty crimes committed on Walmart properties nationwide total in the hundreds of thousands annually.
The news agency said that petty crime is hardly the only problem at Walmart outlets. Bloomberg also reported in 2016 that more than 200 violent crimes, including attempted kidnappings and multiple stabbings, shootings, and murders, have occurred at the nation’s 4,500 Walmart stores.
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