On June 26th, 2023 at a Florida airport, officers responded to a retail theft call involving multiple stores and approximately $950 in stolen merchandise. The suspect was arrested on scene and charged with grand theft, third degree, and resisting an officer without violence. This is that encounter. >> He stole almost $1,000 for the month. He was a wife. You're not going to believe it. I just see him. He's in Oakley right now. He's in Oakley. He's in Oakley right now. [music] >> What's that bag? Nothing. Nothing's in that bag. Nothing [music] video taking stuff in that store. >> On June 26th, 2023, airport officers in Florida responded to a retail theft call. >> Want to see how it looks like to get to help. >> You know where it went? >> You know what that shirt says? >> No, I don't know what it is. >> Can you bring it back and open it? >> Can you stop that? It doesn't look weird. >> Why does that say that on this guy's show? I make it go again. Maybe get another another shot, a different angle. >> Are you guys want to press charges if you catch him? >> We do. He stole almost $1,000. >> Okay. From >> And when he walk over this way. >> Yeah, he went like this way around. >> Yeah. Brooks on the plane got to check Sierra. Uh, it's a light-skinned male. He was pushing a small roll bag that's white with a bunch of different colors. Got a blue shirt with green lettering on it and got a gray shorts and black sneakers. He was headed towards the Brookstone. The Brookstone store and they're willing to press charge. >> Be a white male, blue shirt, gray shorts, pushing a cart with uh >> No, he's got a roller bag that's white with different colors on it. He got a hat on or anything like that? >> Yeah, he has a hat on. is he doesn't look like he's got a dark colored baseball cap on and he's clean shirt. >> What did he put him in the pocket or put him in his bag? >> He put one on his pocket, the other one he put it on the other pocket and then he went around. >> Did you ever see him once he left the store? >> No, I was I was actually on break. >> Oh, okay. >> So, when I came back, that's when I noticed I was missing a few things. Then I told my coworker. >> All right. So then he stole that and then he went here and sold more stuff but she was 26. Look at the tape approximately 50. >> So and then he stole that too. >> Okay. >> Like he took those. >> So look around about a half hour. I'll look around at the bus stop and stuff. Are you going to be in the store? >> Yeah. >> I'll come back to that store and I'll make a report for you. >> All right. Thank you so much. >> No problem. >> Just whatever he stole. >> Yeah. How much it was >> separately or the total cuz I each one separately? Yeah. engagement separately. >> All right. So, the mail came in the store. I took above above property >> totaling whatever kind of was that $440 330 and $1.99. >> It was $950. >> Totally $950. >> Okay. He was a uh a Hispanic male, white male. >> He was a white man. You're not going to believe it. I just see him. He's in Oakley right now. He's in Oakley. using OC right now. Hold on. >> 286 >> 286 the guy stuff. >> Do you have any ID? >> Huh? >> Not on me though. >> What are you doing around here? >> I'm waiting on a person to come in. >> What person to come in? >> I think he said he >> What's in that bag? >> Nothing. >> Nothing's in that bag. >> Yeah, nothing. >> I got you on video taking stuff from that store. >> Push away from that. >> I'll push you away from me. >> I mean, we're out to be on your back. >> What are you talking about? >> What am I talking about? They got you there. >> I don't have I don't have anything. You're not going up 497 traffic. I don't have anything. I don't have anything. >> Stop resisting, sir. >> Jesus. >> Stop resisting. >> I'm not resisting. >> Turn it. >> You got a Y. >> Yes. Hold on. Put him on the ground. Put him on the ground. Keep it on the ground. You're going to do it now. >> Hold on. >> I got I got >> Go face first. Go face down. Put your hand behind your back. Put your hand behind your heart. >> Put your hand behind your back. >> My back. >> Put your hand behind your back. >> Put your There you go, sir. You just broke a rib. >> You got it. >> You just broke a rib in my head. >> No, we didn't. >> Yes, you did. Just stop resisting, sir. >> I'm not resisting. Stop resisting. Ouch. There you go. >> Where's your other bag? >> One male 10. >> All right. Go get a car. >> Oh, my chest. >> Stop resisting. We're going to put We're going to put you on your side. >> You just hurt my ribs. >> You did. Right. Hit my ribs. >> 289. What? >> We need someone with a car. >> I went to go get one. >> Anybody copy 289? >> Can I stand up? >> No. >> I went to go get it. We got it. >> This probably Where's the other stuff? Where's your other bag that you got? Hey, those units uh bring out to >> 3A curbside. My car stage here. >> Where are you in front of? >> 50 yard line. 3A curbside. It's actually here conveniently. >> I hate you, sir. >> Yes, you did. You tried to get away from me. >> I sorry what line. >> That's not true. >> The car is going to be at the 50 yard line. >> Yeah, she's right. Right there. >> You ran away from me cuz you're screaming. >> Run away from >> Yes, you do. Perfect. >> Just tell us when you're there. I >> go down to If you just come out of the ugly store, go down the hallway. The car should be right out there. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. No ID, no nothing on it, right? >> Hey, it's right there. >> So, right there. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> No, they they ID him from inside the car. They're ID here. Really? >> Very insulting. >> Yeah. Well, this stuff man. >> Oh, sorry, Tommy. >> That's all right. >> He's got nothing on. >> Where's the other bag? >> Yeah. Yeah, I got him. Sorry. >> Is this his bag? >> No, that's what he brought in there. But it's so strong from Disney. His >> bag or your bag? >> No, we're missing the other bag. Yeah, he stole the car from the Disney store. Yeah, but he don't have the other bag. We had a lot of other stuff in, so he might be with somebody else. >> Here's the number that decides everything in this case. $750. That is the felony line under Florida statute section 812.014. Property valued between $750 and $5,000 is grand theft third degree, a felony carrying up to 5 years in state prison and permanent felon status if adjudicated. The stolen merchandise totaled roughly $950, placing the subject approximately $200 above that line. That gap is not a technicality. It is the difference between a misdemeanor encounter and a felony arrest with all the constitutional authority that comes with it. Probable cause here rests on two independent pillars. First, a firsthand employee identification made in real time with the witness actively tracking the subject through the airport and providing live location to officers. Second, the store stated video records showing the concealment of merchandise under Beck versus Ohio 379U s 8964. That combination is more than sufficient to justify a warrantless felony arrest in a public place. The initial officer contact was investigative in tone, consistent with the Terry versus Ohio framework from 1968. Officers had reasonable suspicion the moment they received a specific contemporaneous witness identification. The subject's denial and subsequent refusal to produce identification did not eliminate that suspicion. It simply meant the investigation continued. When the subject pushed the officer, Florida statute section 843.02 activated instantly. Resisting an officer without violence requires only obstruction of a lawful duty. No strike is required. No injury is required. A single push during a lawful investigative contact is enough. The resisting charge attached at that exact moment independent of the theft entirely. Any force used from the point of resistance forward falls under Graham versus Connor decided in 1989. Graham requires reasonleness judged from the officer's perspective at the moment of the decision, not in hindsight. The three Graham factors, crime severity, immediate threat, and active resistance, all weighed in favor of the two officer ground control technique that followed. The subject had just pushed a uniformed officer, was actively pulling away, and was suspected of a felony. All three factors pointed in one direction. Notably, when the subject reported chest and rib pain during ground restraint, officers immediately rolled him into the recovery position. That response reflects awareness of positional asphixxia. a documented risk during prolonged prone restraint. Under Florida statute section 776.025, the entire use of force sequence from initial resistance through recovery positioning is authorized. There is one gap worth noting. The subject's push on the officer could have supported a charge of resisting with violence under Florida statute section 843.01, a more serious thirdderee felony. Officers charged the lesser resisting without violence statute instead. That charging decision is not legally wrong. It is a matter of prosecutorial judgment and officer discretion, and it likely contributed to the court's willingness to withhold adjudication at sentencing. The disposition is where this case becomes analytically interesting for anyone studying Florida criminal procedure. The subject pleaded guilty to both counts, but the court chose to withhold adjudication. In Florida, that mechanism under section 948.01 01 preserves voting rights, firearm rights, and clean record status if probation is completed successfully. He receives 6 months of supervised probation, 40 hours of community service, and a permanent airport ban. No restitution was ordered, meaning the victim retailers absorbed the full $950 loss themselves. Whether that outcome fits a felony airport theft is a policy question reasonable people can debate. What is not debatable is that the disposition sits fully within statutory discretion under Florida law. The airport officers earn a B. Probable cause was clean and properly built from a firstirhand witness identification. Escalation from investigative contact to arrest was proportional and legally sound. The use of force was reasonable under Graham. The critical positive when the subject complained of injury. officers immediately adopted the recovery position rather than maintaining prone restraint, demonstrating both tactical training and medical awareness. The deduction from an A comes from one moment of unnecessary profanity during the arrest sequence. That language is unprofessional and creates departmental liability exposure, even when the underlying force is entirely authorized. It is a small mark on an otherwise clean performance. The subject earns a D+. He committed a felony level theft across multiple airport retailers, then compounded his legal exposure by pushing a uniformed officer during initial contact, converting what might have remained a single charge arrest into a two-count criminal case. His repeated denials, despite being told he was captured on video, were both factually false and legally irrelevant. The evidence existed independent of anything he said. Credit where it is due after the takeown, he complied and did not escalate further. That compliance likely factored into the court's decision to withhold adjudication. In Florida criminal practice, how a defendant behaves in the moments after arrest is observed, documented, and remembered. His eventual cooperation was his only legal asset in this case. The loss prevention witness earns an A minus. The probable cause that made this arrest constitutionally sound rested almost entirely on this witness's cooperation. a real-time location, a specific physical description, an itemized dollar total establishing the felony threshold, and an in-person identification made on the floor of the store under Beck versus Ohio. That is exactly what a reliable firsthand identification looks like. The minor deduction reflects one moment of initial hesitation on whether to press charges, which was quickly corrected. That brief confusion, had it continued, could have complicated the arrest. It did not, and the witness ultimately provided a complete credible statement. Lesson one, the 750 line in Florida retail theft is a hard number, not a suggestion. Under Florida statute section 812.014, crossing that threshold changes the charge grade from a misdemeanor to a thirdderee felony. In this stop, $950 in merchandise place the subject $200 above that line. Every dollar past $ 750 is a felony dollar. Lesson two, resisting without violence under Florida Statute Section 843.02 requires no violence at all. A single push during a lawful investigative contact is enough. In this stop, that one physical act added a second criminal count to an already serious arrest and by the logic of the Graham analysis fully authorized the officers to use ground control force they might otherwise have been less justified in applying. Lesson three. Adjudication withheld is a real and consequential mechanism in Florida, but it is not a clean escape. The subject here received probation, community service hours, and a permanent airport ban, meaning he cannot return to this airport or likely any major Florida airport for the rest of his life. Clean record status under section 948.01 comes with conditions, and violating probation converts the withheld adjudication into a formal felony conviction instantly. Let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic you would like us to discuss in the comments below. We read all of them. If there is a body cam interaction or legal question you want covered, let us know. It's a different location. Yeah. No, this Disney from Disney. >> Here is the number that decides everything.