A 70-year-old resident from The Villages, a retirement community in Florida, was taken into custody earlier this month after a shopper at Sam’s Club recorded him urinating on store products.
Officials said Patrick Francis Mitchell urinated on more than $10,000 worth of Spam and Vienna sausages, Villages-News.com reported.
The event occurred on May 30 when the shopper observed Mitchell “urinating in Aisle 18,” according to a police affidavit. The woman used her cell phone to capture Mitchell’s actions on video and reported it to store employees. The affidavit noted that the footage revealed Mitchell “approaching two pallets, facing the shelf, with both hands positioned in front of him below the belt line, remaining there for several seconds.”
His action, the affidavit said, was “consistent with urination.”
Store managers checked the products on the pallets — comprising 188 units of Vienna sausages and 345 units of Spam Classic — and found they had been contaminated with “bodily fluid,” leading to their disposal.
Because Mitchell had used his Sam’s Club membership car when he entered the store, a detective matched the ID to store surveillace video and ultimately to Mitchell’s Florida driver’s license.
Mitchell was arrested on June 4 and charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, PEOPLE reported. He entered a not guilty plea on June 10 and was released on a $3,000 bond. He is due in court again on June 30.
