A 25-year-old Racine man is facing an additional theft charge and is suspected of taking thousands of dollars of baby formula from Walmart, which he sold to a local convenience store.
The man was arrested by the Mount Pleasant Police Department on Monday for two felony counts of bail jumping, a misdemeanor count of bail jumping, and misdemeanor retail theft. Charges have been filed with the Racine County District Attorney’s Office, but the man has not had an initial appearance.
If convicted, the man faces up to 13 1/2 years in prison and/or fined up to $40,000.
According to the criminal complaint, the man — who has multiple retail theft charges filed against him over the past four months — allegedly stole a total of 38 cans of baby formula on three separate dates in October totaling $658 from Walmart, 3049 Oakes Road.
The door greeter at Walmart told police he recognized the man because the company issued a ‘be on the lookout’ warning to its employees. The man was caught on video surveillance on two prior dates taking baby formula. When the greeter asked the man if he had a receipt, the man told the greeter he did not. Trying to walk away from the employee, he grabbed the man’s sleeve and the man pushed the greeter.
A couple of employees held the man down on the ground until a loss prevention officer could get there. The Walmart employee told police that the store has seen a significant amount of its baby formula inventory stolen and they “believed that (the man) was probably responsible for even more thefts.”
The man told police he was selling the stolen baby formula to a Racine-area convenience store for $7 a can. The loss prevention officer estimated that $6,000 in baby formula had been stolen.
An initial appearance has been set for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in front of Racine County Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch.