Pair arrested for stuffing backpacks with stolen items, walking out of Walgreens carrying 12-pack of Sprite and Gators clothing

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dennis Claude Coleman, Jr., 20, and Cassandra Yvonne Culver, 26, were arrested yesterday after allegedly stuffing backpacks with stolen items from Walgreens and walking out carrying a 12-pack of Sprite and Gators clothing.

At about 3 p.m. on September 14, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to the Walgreens at 2415 SW 75th Street after an employee called 911.

The employee reported that both defendants had entered the store with a black backpack, and she saw them placing items in the backpacks with the intent of concealing them; the employee asked another employee to call 911. While the employee was on the phone with the Combined Communications Center, the pair reportedly left the store without paying for the items in their backpacks or the items they were carrying in their hands.

The defendants reportedly ran eastbound on SW 24th Avenue and were found by deputies as they walked along the sidewalk in the 7100 block of SW 24th Avenue. Coleman was reportedly carrying a backpack, along with several t-shirts and a baseball cap. Culver was reportedly carrying a backpack and a 12-pack of Sprite. Both defendants reportedly said they “just found the backpacks” as they were walking.

Post Miranda, Coleman reportedly said he did not have a receipt for the t-shirts and baseball cap and admitted to taking them without paying. He reportedly said that everything in the backpack had been taken from the store; he reportedly had 15 items worth $219.45 in his possession, including two Florida Gators t-shirts, a Florida Gators baseball cap, three Yankee candles, a bottle of Cocoa Butter Lotion, five deodorant sticks, six bottles of body wash, and a two-pack of toothpaste.

Post Miranda, Culver reportedly said she had not been in the store and Coleman gave her the backpack after he left the store.

Culver reportedly had 18 items worth $209.92 in her possession, including a 12-pack of Sprite, a bottle of Cocoa Butter lotion, six bottles of body wash, two packs of Gain laundry pods, a two-pack of razors, two packs of KT tape, and five deodorant sticks.

Coleman, who is described as homeless on the arrest report, has four felony convictions for drug possession, burglary, and dealing in stolen property. Judge Jonathan Ramsey set his bail at $2,500.

Culver has no local criminal history; she was arrested in June on a St. Lucie County warrant for fraudulent use of a credit card, but the charge was dropped after the arrest. Judge Ramsey released her on her own recognizance.

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.