Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Joshua Robert Spirit, 35, was arrested yesterday after allegedly taking his 6-year-old child to help him shoplift and then leaving the child unattended when he ran from police officers.
At about 4 p.m. on November 10, an employee at Ace Hardware (3727 W. University Avenue) reportedly saw Spirit placing merchandise in a bag held by his 6-year-old child while the child watched to see if anyone was coming. The employee said Spirit and the child left the store without paying for the merchandise, which was worth $199. As they were leaving, the employee tried to stop Spirit, but he allegedly walked away. The employee took a picture of the tag on Spirit’s car, and Spirit allegedly backed up into the employee and “tapped” him with his car; the employee called 911 as Spirit drove away…