Thief Uses Shopping Cart to Steal Beer, Barbecue Supplies, Deputies Say

This story is written and reported by Sunde Farquhar, local editor.

Pinellas County Sheriff's Deputies recently put a damper on the apparent party plans of a man at Walmart Neighborhood Market in Dunedin.

Deputies arrested Christopher Thomas Cirello, 34, of Palm Harbor on July 6, after Walmart Neighborhood Market employees called 911 to say he stole a shopping cart of items that included beer and barbecue supplies.

Cirello placed cases of Heineken, Miller Natural Light and Corona beers in the cart along with a package of styrofoam plates, Bic lighters, a bag of charcoal and a package of Little Hug Fruit Barrels and then pushed the cart out of the store, according to Pinellas County arrest records.

He then loaded the items into a red Plymouth van and left, arrest records say. A store employee got the van's license plate number, called 911 and told the dispatcher what direction the van was headed.

Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies pulled over the van and arrested Cirello. Deputies say the items, valued at $73.58, were still in the van.

Cirello was charged with one count of retail theft and one count of driving with a suspended or revoked license. He was released from the Pinellas County Jail after posting $1,150 bond.