Daytona Beach, FL – A 50-year-old Daytona Beach man is now in custody after police say he was armed with a gun when he tried to steal beer from a Walmart.
Vernon Adams – whose address is an apartment next to the Walmart where the incident took place – was arrested after turning himself in at Daytona Beach Police Department headquarters around 6 PM Monday.
In his arrest report, Adams called police admitted to being the suspect in the February 4th incident but insisted he was never armed with a gun and never threatened anyone with a gun.
A woman who lives at the Countryside Apartments across the street from the Walmart at 1101 Beville Road identified Adams as the suspect the day before he turned himself in, per the arrest report.
According to the incident report, Walmart loss prevention workers say the suspect stole a $9 black Ford Mustang logo sweatshirt with blue sleeves earlier in the day from their store and was wearing it when he came back around 5 PM that Thursday to steal a 4-pack of Bud Ice.
The suspect – described as a black male with black hair and brown eyes who stands around 6 feet tall and weighs around 160 pounds – took the beer from a display case, walked into the shoe department, stuffed the beer in a blue bag and walked past the registers without trying to pay, per the incident report.
Walmart workers say the man had to be physically restrained and hauled into the loss prevention office after he refused to go back with them voluntarily.
It was while he was in the office that the man gave back the beer and reached for his right hip, telling the loss prevention workers he was leaving because he had a gun, according to DBPD.
One of the Walmart workers told DBPD she saw a small black gun with a square grip inside the man’s waistband and decided to let him walk out of the store.
The man was last seen walking across Beville Road towards the Countryside Apartments and officers were not able to find him during a search that was conducted through heavy rain, per the report.
Volusia County Jail records show Adams is held on $2,500 bond on charges of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and 2 counts misdemeanor petit theft as of 2 PM Tuesday.
VCJ records also show Adams has been booked there 33 other times since June 2001, including 4 times last year and 3 the year before that. Among his charges include grand theft, burglary, resisting an officer, loitering & prowling, trespassing, marijuana possession and possession of open alcohol containers.
Photo above of the suspect is courtesy of DBPD. Photo below of Adams is courtesy of VCJ.
Vernon Adams
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