Middletown Police Officers Chris Alfrey, Holly Jordan and Vince Lovejoy said they received a call about a subject stealing a grocery cart from the Kroger. The caller told police the man, later identified as Gajus, was pushing the cart on Oxford State Road from Main Street when a man, also later identified as Dean Tucker, 50, of the 1000 block of North Avenue in Middletown, got out of his car and helped him put the cart into the trunk of the vehicle.
The police officers located the vehicle on Andrew Street and Hood Avenue and Monroe Police Officer Eric Walton said he escorted the men back to Kroger to return the cart.
Tucker said he just saw his friend pushing the cart and stopped and offered Gajus a ride, which Gajus confirmed, according to the police report.
Gajus told police he took the cart because he needed to push his scrap metal around town, according to the police report.
He was issued a criminal summons for theft and during a court hearing Friday, July 30, where he was ordered to pay $100 in court costs and to stay away from the Kroger on Oxford State Road by acting Middletown Municipal Court Judge Vincent Sanzone.
Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxohio.com.
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