SARASOTA — A Nokomis man is free on $2,500 bond after being arrested when he finally succeeded succeeded in committing retail theft after three failed efforts, according to police reports.
Francis Michael Harsha, 56, 100 block of Sierra St., is charged with felony fraud. Through the Public Defender’s Office, he has waived arraignment and pleaded not guilty.
According to a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office probable cause affidavit, on Aug. 5 deputies responded to a local Walmart regarding a report of a series of retail thefts. A loss-prevention officer said that one person had engaged in “ticket switching” — putting a low-price item’s barcode sticker over one on a higher-price item — on numerous occasions…