Martin deputy arrested after PSL police say he shoplifted at Walmart
ST. LUCIE COUNTY − A Martin County sheriff’s deputy was arrested Monday after accusations he shoplifted dozens of items during a number of trips to a Walmart store in Port St. Lucie, according to records released Tuesday.
Nelson Garcia, 40, was booked in at the St. Lucie County Jail Monday and released the same day on $6,000 bond following a Port St. Lucie police investigation, according to records and the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.
His charges include two counts each first-degree petty theft, meaning some property he is accused of taking is worth between $100 and $300; and second-degree petty theft, meaning some items are worth less than $100.
Garcia is accused of stealing the items on four occasions between March 1 and April 1 from a Walmart store in the 1800 block of Southwest Gatlin Boulevard, according to records.
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Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said Tuesday he ordered an internal affairs investigation after learning of the accusations. Garcia is on unpaid administrative leave.
Snyder said should the Sheriff's Office determine the thefts occurred, his motives are irrelevant.
"He swore before his family, his fellow employees and God that he would uphold the constitution and the laws of the State of Florida," Snyder said. "And should it be determined that he did that, he violated everybody's trust."
In the first incident, a man identified as Garcia went to a self-checkout register with a cart of goods, records show. Police reported reviewing video surveillance in the investigation.
“He grabs two items at a time and scans the first item then pretends to scan the second item while the register is still processing the first item,” records state.
With some items, investigators reported Garcia faced the barcode away from the scanner.
In this case, he paid for the scanned items — about $115 in goods without tax — with about $279 in unscanned items, most of which were food and clothing.
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Thirty three items were unscanned, though in other cases there were fewer unscanned items.
When police spoke to Garcia regarding a March 15 reported theft, he said, “Yeah that’s me, and if I didn’t pay, I can go back and pay Walmart back, but really, for eggs, that cost two bucks?” records state.
“I wouldn’t do that, do you know what I do?” he said as he pointed to his Martin County sheriff’s patrol vehicle.
In the March 15 case, Garcia is accused of paying for about $98 of items but not paying for about $128 of items.
The officer said if Garcia scanned each item, he’d hear a distinct beep. Garcia said he experienced computer issues “and the Walmart lady came and helped me.”
Ultimately, the Port St. Lucie officer reported not believing Nelson “based on the cameras and answers he provided me.”
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Snyder said if the allegations are found to be true, Garcia violated his oath to the Sheriff's Office.
He said he'll be as disappointed as he would be if one of his sons did this.
"If he did it, he betrayed us all," Snyder said.
Garcia was a uniform road patrol deputy for about five years, Snyder said.
The Sheriff's Office must conduct an internal affairs investigation before deciding the fate of Garcia's job, Snyder said.
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on Twitter @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Martin deputy arrested after PSL police say he shoplifted at Walmart
