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A WALMART customer was accused of retail theft after rightfully returning a faulty product.
The shopper maintained his innocence even after he was arrested for allegedly stealing the big-ticket item.
Brent Shavnore, 35, purchased a gaming computer from Walmart in October but quickly returned the item after unboxing it, as reported by ABC affiliate WEAR-TV.
Upon opening the packaging, Shavnore noticed something was wrong with the item — the box was gutted with plastic inserts instead of hardware.
The Marine veteran was especially disappointed because he bought the new device to play games with his son.
“We thought about building a computer system here for ourselves so I could play video games with my son,” Shavnore said.
It only took Shavnore roughly an hour to drive from his house in Pace, Florida to the Walmart store in Pensacola to make the return.
Receipts confirmed that he completed the return within two hours of the initial purchase.
“Told them exactly what happened,” he said.
“Told them this was not the right machine — it looks like a $700 computer in a $1,600 box.”
“They accepted the return, done deal, no questions asked,” he explained.
Body cam footage shows Pensacola police responding to the purchase three weeks later.
In the footage, a store employee was conversing with the police officer while showing him what Shavnore supposedly stole.
The employee believed Shavnore stole parts of the computer to build his own system and returned a near-empty box.
“I don’t know how to do any of that,” Shavnore said.
“I don’t know about cooling systems, motherboards, processors. I’ve never done that before. I’ve never purchased PC parts before.”
Walmart shoplifting arrests
- Ashley Cross was caught on security cameras using an old watch battery barcode to scan expensive products for just $1, cops say
- Ex-officer Mark Leenerts stole $317.88 worth of merchandise from Walmart stores in Topeka, Kansas
- Jeremiah Boyer allegedly pocketed $52,800 in fees on 874 orders while working for Walmart’s online delivery service Spark
- Brent Adam Brooks, of Sylva, North Carolina, was arrested after allegedly trying to steal a $198 Frigidaire ice maker
- Kabreshia Caldwell is accused of targeting senior customers at Walmarts across Northeast Florida, stealing a total of $10,000
- Katherine Gordon allegedly stole $80 worth of groceries using the ‘banana trick’ at self-checkout
Shavore’s home security camera captured officers from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office knocking on his door for several minutes, attempting to make an arrest.
He noted that the officers never announced themselves and left the house after no one came to answer the door.
The Pensacola Police later informed Shavnore that they had a warrant for his arrest.
As a veteran, Shavnore explained that he would rather turn himself in despite his innocence rather than deal with the anxiety of further police encounters.
Only four months after he turned himself in, the State Attorney’s Office dropped the charges against the consumer, citing “insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction.”
This comes after the retailer has taken serious measures to prevent shoplifting.
Walmart has doubled down on punishments for retail theft including multiple arrests and store-wide bans for repeat offenders.
Walmart did not immediately reply to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
