Cape Coral man with stolen Walmart food leads to warrant discovery

Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press
·2 min read

A Cape Coral man faces several charges after authorities say he left a Walmart store with food he hadn't paid for, leading officers on a chase on foot and swimming through the canals.

Tyreak Shaquier Thornton, 27, is charged with petty theft; resisting without violence and failure to appear for a felony offense.

Around 3 p.m. Monday, Cape Coral police responded to the 900 block of Southwest 36th Terrace in reference to a retail theft. Thornton was fleeing on foot.

Police said the loss prevention officer for the Walmart Neighborhood Market said Thornton was taking items from the store without paying.

Employees said they saw Thornton take hot food items and leave the store through the deli exit, passing all points of sale without trying to pay. Employees tried to stop Thornton, but he ignored them and proceeded to a bush in the parking lot where authorities said he hid other items he had taken.

Officers initially made contact with Thornton as he was fleeing the store and said Thornton was eating chicken from a food tray. Thornton reportedly saw officers and started to run, initiating a foot pursuit.

Officers said Thornton jumped into a canal and was swimming northbound, later trying to exit the canal.

Thornton began walking through backyards behind nearby homes and began running again when he saw officers approaching, authorities said.

Hostage-taker killed: Sharpshooter kills hostage-taker at Bank of America in Fort Myers, Lee Sheriff says

Officers chased Thornton through a backyard and over a fence before circling back around to the street. Authorities said Thornton later surrendered.

Authorities said the edibles Thornton took added up to $98.38.

Police said they discovered Thornton had a felony warrant out of Lee County for felony failure to appear for the burglary of a conveyance and petty theft.

Thornton remained in custody Wednesday morning on a $3,000 bond. He's next due in court Feb. 27 for the food-related charges and March 11 for his failure to appear in court.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Cape Coral police: Stolen chicken on food tray led to warrant discovery