FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — A homeless man based in Fayetteville was arrested just before Christmas after police say he shoplifted from a local dollar store and attacked an employee.
According to a report from the Fayetteville Police, Joe Freddie Montoya, 39, was observed by the manager of Dollar General at 1221 South School Avenue shoplifting. The store manager said he watched for several minutes as Montoya put several items in his pockets.
As he prepared to leave, the manager closed and locked the front door and demanded that Montoya empty his pockets, the report stated. Montoya took some things out, but the manager refused to let him leave because he believed he still had other items belonging to the store.
That’s when Montoya and the store manager began wrestling, and eventually both men landed on the ground, the report said. Police observed where the store manager’s shirt collar had been stretched, consistent with the manager’s account, police said.
Police said that surveillance showed headphones falling out of Montoya’s pockets. An anti-theft device on the headphone packaging had been removed with a hammer and placed on a nearby shelf. Police found the device and hammer, the report said.
Montoya was arrested on one count each of robbery, theft of property and unlawful removal of a theft detection device. He was being held in the Washington County Detention Center on a $3,500 bond and had a court date set for Jan. 28, 2019.
