4th Time Not a Charm for Walmart Thieves

Monday wasn’t a lucky day for two people the Tampa Police Department had been seeking in connection with three past shoplifting incidents at the 19910 Bruce B. Downs Walmart store.

It was, however, a lucky day for police.

Tampa police say Joshua Martin, 32, of Lutz (Pasco County) and Maxlyn Beynart, 23, of Zephyrhills took an iPad from the store back on Jan. 16.

“Their grand theft shoplift was caught on excellent quality video and detected after the theft had occurred and they made their getaway in the red Mustang,” an officer’s report said. “The (defendants), and especially their car, were distinctive and we knew we would see them/it again.”

The officer was correct.

“In February, the duo struck two more times at this Walmart when they stole a large screen TV on one occasion and two smarts phones on another,” the report said. “Again, the grand thefts were detected from video after they made their getaway.”

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The pair was using a “demagnetizer anti-shoplifting device to prevent the theft alarms from triggering.”

The car they used for their getaways was a bright red 1993 Ford Mustang.

Police Were Ready

With shoplifting in general on the rise at the store, the police department took steps to slow down the trend.

An electronic message board was placed in the parking lot. It read: “Shoplifting is a crime. You will be arrested.”

Officers assigned to the area would also meet in the store’s parking lot for their daily roll calls and to fill out paperwork in an effort to thwart crime at the store.

The efforts paid off on Monday, March 25 as officers were collecting the day’s paperwork. While still outside, officers received a radio call that Walmart staff members were inside chasing a pair of shoplifters.

Police “swarmed the exit points,” the report said. “(Officer) Mike Skypack located the red Mustang (we knew we would see it again) in the north lot and he secured it.”

Two other officers located Martin in the store and made the arrest. Officer Gino Robles, “with only four working days left in his career here), saw Beynart nearby and he nabbed her.”

Once in custody, Officer Mark Fields spoke with Martin and Beynart and they confessed to one grand theft in writing and admitted taking items from many Walmart stores, but would not specify, the report said.

The pair was charged with grand theft and use of an anti-shoplifting device.

Martin of 4921 Steel Dust Lane in Lutz remained in the Hillsborough County Jail Wednesday, March 27 on a variety of charges ranging from resisting arrest to grand theft, according to jail records.

Beynart of 38309 Ruth Ave. in Zephyrhills was also still in custody.