NEED TO KNOW
- Patrick Francis Mitchell, 70, has been accused of urinating on over $10,000 worth of products at a Sam’s Club in Florida
- A female customer took photos of the alleged incident and immediately reported it to store management, per an affidavit
- Authorities were able to use Mitchell’s Sam’s Club membership to track him down
A Florida man is facing legal trouble after he allegedly urinated on over $10,000 worth of food at a Sam’s Club.
Patrick Francis Mitchell, 70, was arrested on June 4 and has since been charged with criminal mischief resulting in over $1,000 in damages and disorderly conduct, according to Lake County public records.
At approximately 9:49 a.m. local time on May 30, Mitchell was allegedly observed urinating in an aisle of a Sam’s Club located in Lady Lake, a town near Orlando, according to an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE that was filed by the State of Florida in the Fifth Judicial Circuit court on June 3.
A female customer used her cell phone to capture pictures of the alleged incident, and she then showed them to store employees, per the court document.
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Store CCTV captured additional footage of the alleged incident. The legal document stated that Mitchell allegedly “walked up to two pallets, [faced] the shelf, placed both hands in front of him below the belt line, and stood there for several seconds” doing what the document said appeared to be “behavior consistent with urination.”
Footage also showed Mitchell allegedly walking around the snack section of the store and sitting on patio furniture for “approximately 10 minutes” before paying for his items and leaving, the affidavit said.
Store managers later confirmed there was urine on the two pallets — which they say contained approximately 188 cans of Vienna sausage and 345 cans of Spam — per the court document.
The affidavit added that store employees were forced to throw out the contaminated cans, resulting in a loss of about $10,584.84 in goods.
A store manager was eventually able to provide police with Mitchell’s name and contact information based on details stored in his Sam’s Club membership portal, per the document.
Mitchell pleaded not guilty to both charges against him during a court appearance on June 10, according to Lake County public records. His next court date is scheduled for June 30.
PEOPLE reached out to the Lady Lake Police Department, as well as an attorney for Mitchell, for comment on Sunday, June 15, but did not receive an immediate response.
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