A father that claimed he was just trying to orchestrate summer fun for his children was arrested for shoplifting around noon, Monday, June 26, by officers of the Bellefontaine Police Department.
Brandon Linebaugh, 36, of Bellefontaine, was charged with theft after police were dispatched to Wal-Mart, 2281 S. Main St., on a report he was removing price stickers from lower cost items and placing them on more expensive goods.
Officers report Linebaugh took stickers off of cups priced at 50 cents and placed them on the higher-priced goods and proceeded to the checkout.
Theft prevention personnel from Wal-Mart told police the defendant checked out with three of the four items in his cart with the 50 cent stickers on the items, and attempted to $1.50 for items valued at $62.44, before tax.
The items purchased were two chlorine tablets priced at $6.24 each, a pack of black socks that cost $17.98 and a bottle of weed killer that cost $31.98.
When confronted by law enforcement, the defendant said he’d never done anything like that before, and that he was trying to get his kids’ pool ready as a surprise.
Lindebaugh was issued a summons and given a mandatory court date.
