Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Authorities have apprehended 64-year-old Donald Eugene Wetherington on Wednesday, linking him to several suspected shoplifting events, including the alleged theft of filet mignon, ribs, and a ribeye steak from Sam’s Club.
On October 3, 2025, a Loss Prevention Officer (LPO) from Walmart noted that Wetherington, already familiar to store staff due to past incidents, was navigating the store with a walker. The officer reportedly observed Wetherington as he discreetly placed $144.30 worth of goods in the walker’s seat and exited the premises without making a purchase.
Confronted by the LPO and another employee outside, Wetherington was taken to the Loss Prevention office where he purportedly confessed to the theft. Although the LPO notified the Gainesville Police Department to take him into custody, Wetherington was released after an hour as Walmart’s policy limits the duration an individual can be detained while waiting for law enforcement.
The following day, overwhelmed by numerous ongoing thefts and fraud cases, the LPO neglected to report the incident again, resulting in the Gainesville Police Department not pursuing the matter further.
Fast forward to May 22, 2026, when a detective from the Gainesville Police Department reached out to Walmart’s LPOs via email for information on another case. This involved Wetherington allegedly bringing a stolen generator to a pawn shop, suspected to have been taken from Walmart. This correspondence jogged the LPOs’ memory about the October shoplifting incident, prompting them to forward the video evidence to the detective.
The detective noted that it was “odd” to see Wetherington using a walker because he had been seen in video from the pawn shop, walking normally; surveillance video also reportedly showed Wetherington riding a bicycle up to the pawn shop and carrying the boxed generator into the pawn shop “with no problem.”
The detective learned that Wetherington has been flagged in GPD’s system since 2011 as someone who is known to fake medical conditions; a note in his file says that he “plays the system well.”
On May 27, a GPD officer saw Wetherington riding a bicycle in the Butler Plaza area and called to him from her patrol car. The officer reported that Wetherington kept riding and started pedaling faster; at one point, the wagon he was pulling behind his bicycle fell over, causing his bags to spill onto the ground. The officer got out of her patrol car and reported that Wetherington paused and looked like he was going to pick up the bags, but instead he got back onto the bicycle and rode away again.
By the time the officer got back to her patrol car and turned around, Wetherington had fallen, and a Butler Plaza security guard had caught up with him. The officer placed Wetherington in handcuffs, and he reportedly started screaming that he needed an ambulance for heart problems. The officer called EMS, and Wetherington was transported to an emergency room.
In the ambulance, an EMT asked Wetherington what the police thought he stole, and Wetherington reportedly said, “Meat.”
A search incident to arrest reportedly produced two packages of filet mignon worth over $150, $98 of ribs, and a $40 package of ribeye steak.
The officer reported that a manager at Sam’s Club provided video that showed Wetherington pushing a walker to the meat department and selecting the meat before walking out of the store without paying. The officer noted that as Wethington walked away from the store, he walked quickly and did not limp.
The detective noted that the generator theft is still being investigated and may lead to additional charges.
Wetherington has been charged with two counts of felony petit theft and fleeing from a police officer. He has 28 felony convictions (three violent) and 20 misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); he has served 12 state prison sentences out of Alachua, Bay, Gilchrist, Lake, Leon, and Marion counties, with his most recent release in 2024. Judge Meshon Rawls set bail at $25,000.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
