A Georgia man was arrested after allegedly stealing merchandise from several Home Depot locations by wearing an employee uniform and loading the items into a rental truck.
32-year-old Dustin White lives in Lakeland, Georgia.
For the past few weeks, a couple of Home Depot locations in the Tallahassee area reported that they had been the targets of robberies. In the reports given to the authorities, the suspect was described as a white male wearing a Home Depot employee apron.
According to reports, Home Depot takes extra measures with their aprons by having the employees hand them in at the end of each shift. The management tends to the laundering and/or replacement of the smocks and keeps them on-site. They implement this practice to deter the general public from using them to masquerade as workers, which would allow them to easily take merchandise.
In the afternoon on March 1, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office received a report about a possible robbery in progress at a Home Depot store in Panama City.
Police arrived at the address, and they reportedly spotted a man wearing what appeared to be the easily identifiable bright orange Home Depot smock. The man was allegedly loading store merchandise into a U-Haul rental trailer.
The authorities tried to approach the man, but they reported that he started to run away.
After a short chase, the man was identified as White, and it was confirmed that the apron he was wearing matched the ones that are worn by employees of the franchise.
It was estimated that the value of the merchandise taken in the alleged heist was $1,500.
White was taken into custody and booked into the Bay County Jail. He is expected to face charges for grand theft, fraud by impersonation to obtain property, possession of methamphetamine, and resisting arrest without violence.
The authorities reported that the charges against White are for the accusations out of the Panama City store. They are investigating the store claims in Tallahassee, and they expect that White will face additional charges.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a theft offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.