A Clermont man was arrested after being chased down while drunk driving from Walmart to BJ’s during an alleged theft.
An officer responded to an alleged retail theft in progress at Walmart, located at 1450 Johns Lake Rd., around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Clermont Police Department. While enroute to the call, he was given a description of 56-year-old Robert Patrick Hammond getting into a blue passenger car to leave the parking lot.
As the officer passed in front of the store, he noticed said vehicle driving recklessly through the parking lot. He got behind the vehicle as it approached the exit leading to U.S. Hwy. 27. It did not come to a complete stop at the stop sign and drove out onto the highway, cutting in front of oncoming traffic, the report said.
Once the road was clear, the officer followed behind with his emergency lights on. The vehicle then turned into the parking area of BJ’s Wholesale Club, located at 2577 S U.S. Hwy. 27. It hit a curb and swerved left and right, as if Hammond was confused and unsure of where to go. He eventually came to a complete stop, the report said…