Two men landed in jail after the botched theft of more than $1,000 in merchandise at Walmart at Buffalo Ridge Plaza in The Villages.
Martin Anthony Hering, 49, of Summerfield, entered the store at about 5 p.m. Thursday and began loading a shopping cart with merchandise, including two vacuum cleaners, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. He went to the automotive section, made his way to the infant section where he selected a couple of more items and ultimately headed for the store’s exit.
Hering, who stands 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 225 pounds, was stopped by a Walmart loss prevention agent. Hering shoved away the shopping cart, loaded with $1,024 in merchandise, and headed for a pickup truck in the parking lot. A deputy arrived on the scene and took Hering into custody. Hering had previously been arrested for theft in 2019 in Marion County, but the charge was dismissed. He was also arrested earlier this year after an angry confrontation with a woman, prompting her son to call 911.
The driver of the pickup was identified as 28-year-old Hunter Anthony Gough of Summerfield, who has a history of violent behavior, including an attack on a woman in 2022 at Margarita Republic in The Villages. Gough was initially standing by the driver’s door of the vehicle, holding two small children.
He could not provide a valid driver’s license. He attempted to show the deputy a receipt for a payment plan through which he said he was trying to get his license reinstated…