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.