A man has been accused of shoving a loss prevention employee at a Bristol Township grocery store and trying to make off with a sizable amount of meat.
Eric Scott Mitchell, 37, of Morrisville, was arraigned recently by District Judge Robert Wagner, Jr., on charges of robbery, reckless endangerment, retail theft, receiving stolen property, and harassment.
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The loss prevention employee at the ShopRite in Fairless Hills told a police officer that he watched Mitchell take various cuts of meat from the store’s freezer and walk around aimlessly. Eventually, the man put the assorted meats into a shopping cart and walked into an aisle. He concealed the various meats in his clothing and walked through all points of sale, according to court papers. The loss prevention employee tried to stop Mitchell from leaving the store with the meat. However, Mitchell refused the listen to the loss prevention employee and eventually shoved him outside of the store through automatic doors that opened, police said.
While Mitchell fell after shoving the employee, the employee did not fall and watched as the 37-year-old man ran away towards the nearby Lower Bucks Family YMCA, police said.
Packs of boneless chicken breasts, BBQ chicken, tenderloin, and turkey breasts fell from Mitchell’s clothing when he shoved the ShopRite employee and fell, police said.
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The stolen meat recovered totaled just over $100, police said. Investigators wrote in court papers that they used facial recognition software to identify Mitchell based on store surveillance images.
As of Friday, Mitchell remained in the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $25,000 bail.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
