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.
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.
OMG too bad we cannot boycott the USPS for hiring a clown 🤡
Maybe he had too many childhood vaccines and his public defender can use that 💩
Now we know why mail is missing at times just one of many idiots. It works at the Postal Service and they put up with it. I hope he’s fired now.
Completely unethical.
A 🐧 🐧 🐧 🐧 like
no one will notice .
.🙊🙊🙊🐧🐧🐧🐧
I’d investigate 🔎 farther.
A layed off postal worker
who flat-out steals
* !!!*
Is a thief
*!!!*.
No accident there.
No research and development
No no and no .
Could be more much
more behind this ex-worker.
Pony express 🐎🐎🐎🐎you know how mail was delivered in a different century.
This guy is book smart but common sense dumb. I get it he was not working (for what the reason was) but shoplifting is not the answer. There are agencies and probably people out there willing to help if asked.
postal employees make a career of stealing from tax payers,
GOP politicians make a career out of stealing from taxpayers.
Just where in the story did you read he was republican. I guess that missed that part of it or are you just running your mouth?
What a loser. It takes a lot to be released from the USPS. I hope they hold him accountable for everything.