When a shoplifting suspect, allegedly caught last week taking numerous things including diapers and bananas, talked to an officer, he said he was out of a job and was trying to make ends meet.  

Michael Lee Campbell, 44, of Bloomfield, was arrested by Officer Orry Phipps of the Linton Police Department on Monday, December 16.

Officer Phipps was dispatched to the Walmart store in Linton around 10:23 a.m. that Monday about a shoplifting and trespassing incident. Walmart employees had stopped the suspect.

When Officer Phipps arrived, store Asset Protection Associates explained they had observed Campbell selecting and concealing several items, passing all points of sale then attempting to exit without purchasing the items.

The store provided the officer with video surveillance footage of the incident and Officer Phipps reported the video was consistent with the story told by the employees.

Campbell is accused of taking numerous items with a total value of $330.19 including two baby monitors, diapers, wipes and two bundles of bananas.

In addition, Officer Phipps was given paperwork signed by Campbell showing that in the past, he had been advised not to return to any Walmart stores.

When Officer Phipps talked to Campbell, Campbell allegedly said he knew he was not allowed on Walmart property and he admitted taking the items without paying for them. Officer Phipps reported Campbell said he did not have a job and he just had to go back to his old ways to make ends meet.

Officer Phipps noted Campbell has at least three previous felony convictions for theft.

Campbell was booked into the Greene County Jail around 11:19 a.m. His bond was set at $2,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He has since been released on bond.

When he appears in Greene Superior Court in January, he’s facing theft, with a prior conviction for theft, a Level 6 felony, and criminal trespassing, a Class A misdemeanor.