COLUMBUS, Ind. — A man from Tennessee was arrested Saturday evening after allegedly stealing merchandise worth thousands of dollars.
Columbus Police Department officers were called to Walmart, located at 735 Whitfield Drive, around 4:45 p.m. for a report of a shoplifting suspect inside the store.
When officers arrived, they met with store security and confronted the suspect a short time later, according to CPD.
The suspect, who was identified as 51-year-old Gregg Lestingi of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, reportedly put several scientific calculators inside a mailbox and then used the self-checkout lane to only purchase the mailbox.
Officers located Lestingi’s vehicle in the store parking lot and found suspected stolen merchandise inside his vehicle.
Officers got a search warrant for Lestingi’s vehicle and found several dozens of suspected stolen calculators and boxes of over the counter medicine.
Officers believe that Lestingi was planning to sell the stolen items on the internet. The value of the stolen property recovered was about $8,500.
Lestingi was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail where he was held on the following preliminary charges:
- Theft (Level 6 Felony)
- Possession of a Controlled Substance (Class A Misdemeanor)
The incident remains under investigation.