A 70-year-old Florida man shocked shoppers and forced a Sam's Club store to discard thousands of dollars worth of food products after allegedly relieving himself in the canned goods aisle. The disturbing incident has resulted in criminal charges against the elderly resident of The Villages.
According to Daily Mail, Patrick Francis Mitchell was arrested on May 30 on charges of Criminal Mischief of $1,000 or more and Disorderly Conduct following the incident at a Sam's Club location in Lady Lake, approximately one hour north of Orlando.
The unsettling event occurred just before 10 am when a female customer witnessed Mitchell's actions and began recording with her cellphone. Store management later reviewed security footage that allegedly showed Mitchell approaching two pallets of food, facing the shelf, and placing both hands below his belt line for several seconds before walking away.
Costly Contamination Incident
After allegedly urinating on the merchandise, Mitchell casually strolled through the store and sat on patio furniture for about ten minutes. He then completed his shopping and exited the establishment without notifying any employees about what had happened.
Store workers later discovered that the urine had contaminated two pallets of canned goods. The damaged products included approximately 188 units of canned Vienna Sausages and 345 units of canned Spam Classic, with a total value of $10,584.84.
All contaminated items had to be discarded due to health and safety concerns. The significant financial loss to the store resulted in the more serious Criminal Mischief charge against Mitchell, as the damage exceeded the $1,000 threshold for the higher-level offense.
Swift Identification Process
Sam's Club's membership-only business model proved helpful in quickly identifying the suspect. Since Mitchell needed to present his membership card to enter the store, managers were able to access his personal information from their member database.
Store officials retrieved Mitchell's name, date of birth, address, phone number, and email from the membership portal. This information was then provided to law enforcement to assist in locating and apprehending the suspect.
Several days after the incident, officers from the Lady Lake Police Department arrested Mitchell at his home in The Villages, a popular retirement community in Central Florida known for being a 55+ residential area. The arrest came after authorities reviewed both witness video and the store's surveillance footage.
Legal Proceedings Underway
Following his arrest, Mitchell was released on a combined $3,000 bond. The bond amount consisted of $2,500 for the Criminal Mischief charge and $500 for the Disorderly Conduct offense, according to court records.
On Tuesday, Mitchell entered a not guilty plea to both charges. Court documents indicate he has retained criminal defense attorney Bobby Rumalla to represent him in the case, though neither Mitchell nor his attorney responded to requests for comment from media outlets.
Sam's Club, which is owned by retail giant Walmart, has also not issued any public statement regarding the incident or the substantial loss of inventory. The company typically does not comment on ongoing legal matters involving its stores.
