A suspected thief who wore a mask has been tracked down in the theft of merchandise from Walmart at Buffalo Ridge Plaza in The Villages.
Alex Lopez, 24, was arrested Monday at his home at the Wildwood Preserve Apartments on Powell Road.
Lopez, who has a lengthy criminal history, entered the store on Oct. 28 wearing a black and white mask, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. He was captured on surveillance as he loaded his cart with $166.74 in merchandise and left the store without paying for it. He fled in a white 2015 Chevy Equinox.
Deputies went to the apartment complex and found the vehicle.
Lopez was arrested on a felony charge of theft and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center on $8,000 bond.
He was convicted of theft in 2017, grand theft in 2018, failure to return leased property in 2018 and grand theft from a dwelling in 2020, all in Lake County.
