An Arkadelphia man was arrested Saturday morning after apparently shoplifting several toiletry items from a local store, then fleeing and resisting arrest.
According to a report on file at the Arkadelphia Police Department, a Walmart employee reported that he was in the area of the store’s west entrance/exit when he heard the security alarms go off. He said he saw a Hispanic male wearing a plaid shirt and blue jeans going out the door. He then yelled for the man to stop, but the suspect ran out the door and south toward another business on West Pine.
Officers were dispatched to the area at 7:58 a.m. Officer James Shearin arrived in the area at 8 a.m. and saw a Hispanic male, wearing the described attire, running across West Pine Street from High School Drive. When the man looked in the direction of the police car, he allegedly ducked into some bushes on the south side of Pine Street. Shearin yelled for the man to stop, but he continued running. Shearin gave chase, and the suspect became tangled in vines. As Shearin approached the man and tried to place handcuffs on him, he resisted and pulled away.
The report notes that Shearin forced the man — identified as Jaime Cruz-Martinez, 34, of 102 Texas St., Arkadelphia — into a small tree to get the cuffs on him. As he walked Martinez to his patrol car he noticed bulges in his front pant pockets and lower pant legs. When he asked what he had on his person, he replied, “Stuff I got from Walmart.”
Thirteen items were found either in Martinez’s clothing or in the place where he was apprehended. The items, worth $106, included deodorant, razors, replacement razor blades, body spray and shampoo and conditioner.
Martinez was transported to the Clark County Jail, where he was charged with shoplifting, public intoxication, fleeing and resisting arrest.
Formal charges will be determined by County Prosecutor Blake Batson.