An Ocala man was arrested for theft after hiding a SIM card under his hat and trying to leave without paying Walmart.
An asset protection associate spotted 38-year-old Jed Allen Appleton grabbing items from the electronics department at Walmart, located at 2501 Citrus Blvd., at 12:20 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. He walked back and forth between the aisles and hid merchandise in his hat.
Appleton then went to the sporting goods department, grabbed some items and went to the checkout registers. He paid for everything but what was under his hat. He proceeded to leave the store but was stopped at the exit doors by the associate to be taken to the Loss Prevention Office, the report said.
An officer later responded to the store and found Appleton in the office. While on scene, the officer contacted dispatch and ran a check on his criminal history, which revealed two prior theft convictions. What he stole that day was a SanDisk Micro 512 GB SIM card worth $39.98, the report said…