A Leesburg man on a bicycle was arrested Monday night at the Summerfield Wal-Mart for trespassing at the property.
When a Marion County sheriff’s deputy arrived at the store, located at 17961 S U.S. Hwy. 27/441, a loss prevention officer said he had spotted 55-year-old Thomas J. Louw near the garden area and knew he had a prior trespass warning from the store, a sheriff’s office report states.
The deputy saw Louw near the garden area at a picnic table and watched the loss prevention officer approach him with the prior trespass warning from Dec. 10. The deputy then confirmed Louw’s identity through his Florida ID card. Louw said he remembered being trespassed from the Wal-Mart “but forgot,” the report says.
Louw, who lives at 3721 Picciola Rd. in Leesburg, was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with trespassing. He was being held on $1,000 bond and is due to appear in a Marion County courtroom on Feb. 19 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charge.