Walgreens thief caught after stealing, smashing cash register, police say

LAKELAND (FOX 13) - A Lakeland man has been arrested and charged after police say he tried to pull of a daring theft in broad daylight.

Police say Randy Atkins walked into the Walgreens on Memorial Blvd. mid-morning on Memorial Day.
Surveillance video shows a man leaning over the cosmetics counter and tinkering with a cash drawer until it finally comes free. Periodically he looks around to see if anyone is watching or if an employee is going to stop him. No one does.

Police say the entire process took about two minutes.

In the meantime, one of the employees called the Lakeland Police Department.

Investigators say Walgreens's security policy is similar to many other major retail chains these days.

"Right now, the trend is not to engage with that shoplifter and cause an employee to get hurt or injured," explained Lakeland Police Department spokesman Sgt. Gary Gross.

"They don't want this guy to come back and engage with an employee," continued Gross. "There could be resisting. There could be a fight. They could have a weapon." 

Police say Adkins walked outside, threw the cashbox on the ground and it broke open. A few minutes later, police arrested him after they say he walked right by an officer.