Sheriff Grady Judd

On May 10th, at about 8:08 a.m., a man was at the self-checkout at the Mulberry Walmart and selected the cash back option---he was due forty-dollars (comprised of two twenty-dollar bills).

The man walked away, forgetting to grab his bills.

When he realized he walked off without his money, he went back. The money was gone. He checked with store personnel, but nobody had turned in the money.

The man contacted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to report it.

Security video was obtained from the store and it shows the person who took the money.

The person who took the bills is most likely facing theft charges, because he took the money and made no attempt to get it back to the rightful owner (such as turning it over to management). Now, is it possible that this person was in a hurry and was going to turn it in later? Sure. After all, he was purchasing flowers, so maybe he had a hot date, or maybe he was going to have dinner with Mom for Mother’s Day. We don’t know. And we won’t know until he speaks with our detective about it. But with every day that passes, the harder it’s going to be to convince the detective it wasn’t theft.

If you are this man, contact Detective Wright to give her your story. It would be nice to get the money back to the victim. If you recognize this man, or have information that could be helpful to this investigation, please contact Detective Wright at 863-499-2400 (reference case#20-19265). Or to remain anonymous, contact Heartland Crime Stoppers - call 1-800-226 TIPS (8477), visit www.heartlandcrimestoppers.com and click on "Submit A Tip," or download the free "P3tips" app on your smartphone or tablet.