Gainesville man charged with five shoplifting incidents in one week

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ian Harrison Kennard, 33, was arrested yesterday after allegedly stealing “hundreds of dollars (sometimes over $1,000) of merchandise” from Walmart in five incidents in the week after Christmas.

On December 31, a Loss Prevention Officer (LPO) at the Butler Plaza Walmart informed Gainesville Police Department (GPD) detectives that Kennard had committed four “push-out” thefts since December 26; the LPO said that on December 31, Kennard had stolen $1,100 in merchandise. The LPO said Kennard typically parks near the Garden Center entrance, fills a cart with hundreds of dollars of merchandise, then goes back to the Garden Center and waits for the associate there to be distracted before pushing his cart out of the exit without paying.

On January 2, the LPOs told a GPD detective that Kennard was back in the store; the detective reported that Kennard filled a cart with items valued at $576.09 and pushed his cart out of the Garden Center doors while the associate was distracted. An LPO stopped Kennard, and patrol officers arrived a short time later.

Advertisement

Kennard was taken to GPD Headquarters to be interviewed, and post Miranda, he reportedly admitted to all five of the known shoplifting incidents, along with several others. According to his LinkedIn profile, Kennard has an executive-level job with the U.S. Postal Service, and when he was asked why he was shoplifting when he had a good job, he reportedly said he had been on unpaid leave for personal reasons from early September to two weeks ago, and he was having money problems. Kennard also reportedly said he had made “stupid decisions.”

Kennard has been charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud, engaging in organized retail theft with five incidents within 30 days, both felonies, and petit theft. He has no local criminal history, and Judge Phillip Pena set bail at $25,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

10 Comments