Beloved Missouri store manager dies after pushed by suspected shoplifter

Court records revealed that a Missouri grocery store manager died after he was pushed to the ground by a suspected shoplifter.

Credit: Peggy CCI/Pixabay

Credit: Peggy CCI/Pixabay

Court records revealed that a Missouri grocery store manager died after he was pushed to the ground by a suspected shoplifter.

A beloved Missouri grocery store manager died earlier this month when he was pushed to the ground by a man suspected of shoplifting, according to court records.

Tony Silvey, 64, died Dec. 2. He was a store manager at McKeever's Price Chopper in Parkville and worked in the grocery business for 40 years, WDAF reported.

An arrest warrant for involuntary manslaughter was issued by a Platte County judge for Joshua Stucky, 33, the television station reported. As of Monday evening, Stucky was being held in a Franklin County jail on unrelated charges, according to WDAF.

According to court records, on Nov. 16, Silvey was called to aid a loss prevention officer at the store who said he saw a man and woman shoplifting.

As Silvey and the officer were escorting Stucky to the loss prevention office, he allegedly said, "You have your stuff back" and pushed Silvey to the ground before fleeing the store, WDAF reported.

Silvey hit the back of his head when he fell, according to court records. An autopsy revealed he suffered a skull fracture, hemorrhaging and bleeding in the brain bleed, which led to his death, WDAF reported.

The amount of the items stolen was $194.58, the television station reported.

Silvey’s ex-wife, Peggy Vanhamme, called him a humble and caring man.

"You never really broke up with him completely," Vanhammem who was married to Silvey for 21 years, told WDAF. "It was always like you were always friends.

“He loved his job. He was always there, never missing a day of work, but he wanted to retire early, didn’t want to go through another winter here because he was getting worn out. He wanted to retire early on St. Pete Beach in Florida.”

Vanhamme said she will miss Silvey, who once helped a co-worker by cosigning for an automobile loan and was usually “the life of the party.”

"He was an awesome, awesome man, and he did so many things for people and he'll be so missed by everybody," Vanhamme told WDAF.

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