COVINA — Officials sent a man for psychological evaluation Wednesday after he was caught trying to seal more than $1,500 worth of electronics from a Covina Wal-Mart store, police said.
The name of the man, a 45-year-old San Bernardino resident, was not available as he underwent psychological evaluation, Covina police Lt. Tim Doonan said.
The incident was reported about 11 a.m. at Wal-Mart, 1275 N. Azusa Avenue, police said.
he man is accused of emptying a large box that contained a lamp inside the store, then filling it with $1,200 worth of car stereos and portable DVD players, the lieutenant said.
He took the box to the register and paid for the lamp and a clothing hamper before bringing the items out to his pickup truck, Doonan said.
The man then went back into the store and filled a hamper with another car stereo and four more DVD players when an employee thought he looked suspicious and confronted him, police said. The man dropped the hamper and ran from the store.
Police captured the man nearby inside a nearby Wienerschnitzel restaurant and recovered the items from his truck, Doonan said.
“Shortly after his arrest, we discovered he might have some mental health issues,” the lieutenant said. He was taken for psychological evaluation instead of immediately being booked on suspicion of commercial burglary and grand theft.
